Marvel Studios is leaning heavily on familiar faces as its next Avengers movie approaches.
Since Avengers: Endgame (2019), the MCU has introduced a long list of new heroes, including Moon Knight, She-Hulk, America Chavez, Shang-Chi, and Kamala Khan.
Many have barely been seen since.
Simu Liu will return in Avengers: Doomsday (2026), but the film marks Shang-Chi’s first live-action appearance since 2021. Iman Vellani has also been absent from live-action since The Marvels (2023), despite that movie teasing a new team led by Kamala Khan.
Meanwhile, Marvel has increasingly returned to established characters. Spider-Man: No Way Home (2021) and Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) leaned heavily on legacy appearances, while Doomsday will bring back Robert Downey Jr., Chris Evans, and several Fox-era X-Men stars.
Now, another original Avenger may be joining them.
Jeremy Renner Fuels Hawkeye Return Rumors
Jeremy Renner sparked speculation on Thursday after sharing a close-up of his Hawkeye costume on Instagram.
The suit appears to be the same one worn by Clint Barton in the Disney+ series Hawkeye. Renner also saved the image to a highlight titled End Game Press.
Fans quickly interpreted the post as a possible hint that Hawkeye will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, which is reportedly undergoing additional filming in the United Kingdom.
Marvel has not announced Renner as part of the movie’s cast.
Jeremy Renner teases Hawkeye's return in new Instagram story. pic.twitter.com/yawMQGZSPN
— MCU Film News (@MCUFilmNews) August 28, 2026
Still, Hawkeye would fit naturally into a film already packed with returning MCU veterans. Barton was one of the six original Avengers and appeared throughout the Infinity Saga before seemingly stepping away from superhero life in Hawkeye.
The Disney+ series ended with Barton returning to his family after confronting his past as Ronin. It also positioned Hailee Steinfeld’s Kate Bishop as his successor.
Renner’s own Marvel future once seemed uncertain.
On New Year’s Day 2023, the actor was crushed by his seven-ton snowplow while helping a family member. He suffered blunt chest trauma and more than 30 broken bones before undergoing a lengthy recovery.
In 2025, Renner also said he rejected an offer to return for Hawkeye Season 2 after being offered half his original salary for approximately eight months of work.
He called it an “insult offer,” blaming Disney’s “penny pinchers” and accountants.
More Original Avengers Could Return
Renner is not the only longtime MCU actor rumored to have filmed new material for Doomsday.
Reports claim Mark Ruffalo recently shot additional scenes after leaving the set of HBO crime drama Task.
Ruffalo has played Bruce Banner since The Avengers (2012). His character most recently appeared in Spider-Man: Brand New Day (2026), where his inhibitor chip was destroyed by Jean Grey, played by Sadie Sink.
The late timing of the reported filming has prompted speculation that Hulk and Hawkeye could appear in smaller scenes or post-credits sequences leading into Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
Renner has also faced controversy outside Marvel. Filmmaker Yi Zhou accused him in 2025 of sexual misconduct, sending unsolicited explicit images, and threatening to contact immigration authorities.
Renner strongly denied the allegations as “totally inaccurate and untrue.”
For now, Marvel has not confirmed either Renner or Ruffalo for Avengers: Doomsday.
But if Hawkeye does return, he would become the latest example of Marvel turning back to the heroes that built the MCU while many of its newer characters remain waiting for their next appearance.
Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters in December.
