Is Captain Marvel In 'Avengers: Doomsday'? (Where The MCU Left Carol Danvers)

Avengers: Doomsday (2026) is the next big Marvel Cinematic Universe movie that's packed with some major questions. It marks the beginning of the end of a shaky era of films and shows, which added multitudes of new characters. Some powerful established characters were also pushed to the back burner, like Captain Marvel.

But with such a powerful hero left in the void of space, it makes you wonder if she will be a part of Avengers: Doomsday in some capacity. However, to understand how possible that is, it's equally important to try to understand what happened to her in the years leading up to the new film.

Is Captain Marvel in 'Avengers: Doomsday'?

Avengers: Doomsday is already set up as the biggest crossover for the MCU, having two Avengers teams, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, all meeting to face down incursions and Doctor Doom. That said, the one thing that people have pointed out is that when it comes to powerful characters, the only worthy additions are Magneto, Thor, and the Sentry.

That alone has been all the proof we've gotten that Captain Marvel will not be in the upcoming film. Still, it feels like a missed opportunity because Captain Marvel has always been an intergalactic hero, and she was also present for the final battle in Avengers: Endgame (2019).

The fact that it hasn't been confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday suggests that even if she makes an appearance, it likely won't be in a meaningful way. As a result, it leaves us with a question of why that would happen and what benefit would come of that. Especially since we know that Doom will be stronger than Thor, Magneto may not even survive, and the Sentry's abilities risk bringing out the Void. Captain Marvel feels like a logical addition to the series, and yet, it doesn't seem she'll be involved, and it only raises questions about what happened to her before. But the answer to that only makes the reality more frustrating.

What Happened to Captain Marvel in the MCU?

While Captain Marvel has finally come into her own in the MCU, audiences have always struggled to embrace her character. It doesn't make much sense, as she's fun, funny, and genuinely a cool hero to watch operate. Nevertheless, The Marvels (2023) remains the last time we saw Carol Danvers in action.

In that film, she grew a lot from her debut film and Avengers: Endgame. She was no longer stoic, had a fun and sarcastic sense of humor, and was still growing into a hero she could be happy with in the mirror. Her flaws made her unique, and the relationship with Monica Rambeau made the film and gave it heart. When we last saw her, she, Monica, and Kamala Khan stopped Dar-Benn but failed to keep her from opening a rift in space-time.

Monica had to sacrifice herself to close the portal, leaving her stranded in another world, while Carol and Kamala reunited on Earth. With faith that she would return, Carol kept on being a hero and saved the Kree race, fixing a problem she initially caused. But it left her story not only open-ended, but integral to the larger narrative.

Not Having Captain Marvel in 'Avengers: Doomsday' Is a Big Mistake

Avengers: Doomsday has a strong hook for its story, with incursions bringing teams across the multiverse together. But The Marvels showed why and how Captain Marvel could still be a part of it. For starters, she's aware that Monica is in another reality, which happens to be the same one as the X-Men. With that team in Doomsday, Carol should be there to reunite with her friend.

Carol also has knowledge of what happened with the Multiversal tear and could provide integral information, or even her frequency and closeness with Monica could keep the teams from fighting too much. Then, of course, there's her sheer power.

Captain Marvel is one of the most powerful characters in the MCU, and even if she wasn't in a lot of MCU movies, not having her in an event film like Avengers: Doomsday feels like a mistake. She has to be there to protect her reality, and she even has a personal stake in it all. The story easily establishes her place in the film, and now, knowing she's not there, as far as we know, feels like a missed opportunity.