No original Avenger is confirmed for Wonderof the 2025 schedule, but it is necessary to appear to solve a glaring problem in history. 12 years after The Avengers, only a few members of the original team are still active in the MCU timeline. Iron Man and Black Widow sacrificed themselves to defeat Thanos in Avengers: Endgame and Captain America retired with Peggy Carter. Thor, Bruce Banner, and Hawkeye are the only original MCU Avengers left, and they still have more to do. However, it is unknown when these characters will return.
The MCU's 2025 schedule includes three films (Captain America: Brave New World, Rays*and The Fantastic Four: Getting Started) and three Disney+ programs (Daredevil: Born Again, Iron Heartand Wonder Man). Thor, Hulk and Hawkeye are not expected in any of these projects, but Hawkeye has connections to Rays* and Reckless. While Hawkeye doesn't have a starring role, the character needs to return in 2025 to address the narrative ties he has to these two projects.
2025 will have no original Avengers appearance as things currently stand
Marvel's Slate 2025 features mostly new faces
The 2025 MCU schedule does not include any reported appearances from the returning Avengers. Although rumors suggest that Robert Downey Jr. The Fantastic Fourwould be as Doctor Doom, not Tony Stark, teasing his next role in Avengers: Judgment Day. Despite many characters from 2008 The Incredible Hulk returning to Brave new worldBruce Banner is reportedly absent from the film. Thor is also unlikely to return to these projects, which makes more sense since he has little connection to the upcoming episodes.
Steve Rogers is reportedly still alive, but likely won't be recruited, as he is now an elderly man in the main MCU timeline, and Sam Wilson is now Captain America. Black Widow and Tony Stark are dead, but Stark's legacy lives on through Riri Williams in Iron Heart as she continues to improve her Iron Man suit. Hawkeye is supposedly retired, but Clint may come out of retirement again, as he did in Captain America: Civil War. If there's a surprise appearance from any original Avenger, it should be Clint Barton, as he still has something riding on these projects.
Thunderbolts and Daredevil: Born Again are linked to Hawkeye
Hawkeye Has Open-ended Stories in Both 2025 Marvel Shows
Hawkeye has connections to several characters in Rays* and Daredevil: Born Again. In Black Widow's post-credits scene, Valentina Allegra de Fontaine visits Yelena Belova at her sister's grave. She names Hawkeye as her next target, saying he is responsible for Natasha's death. It is later revealed in Hawkeye that Eleanor Bishop hired Yelena to kill Clint. Eleanor also worked with Kingpin, who told Maya Lopez, aka Echo, to kill Hawkeye, after he killed her father when he was Ronin.
It's unclear why Valentina wanted to kill Hawkeye, but he could be one of the biggest obstacles to her plans. Valentina becomes director of the CIA in Black Panther: Wakanda Foreverand may be involved in shady dealings that require the Thunderbolts' help. Discretion is your friend, and Hawkeye could be one of her main threats by revealing what she is doing. Trying to kill an Avenger would be a huge scandal for a government official, and it's a story Marvel shouldn't ignore.
Thunderbolts Can't Avoid Addressing Hawkeye's Assassination Plot
Hawkeye's absence creates a significant plot problem
Valentina reached a new level of power in Rays*being at the same time director of the CIA and owner of Avengers Tower. It's unclear why she bought it, but it's prime real estate for anyone looking to demonstrate authority. However, it's unlikely that Clint would be content with Val owning Avengers Towerespecially after she tried to kill him. Although he still doesn't know that she was the one who hired Yelena, it would be strange for him to avoid investigating the new owner after everything that happened. Hawkeye may be retired, but he could work independently to uncover Val's plans.
Yelena also doesn't trust Val after manipulating her into doing her dirty work. As Yelena joins the Rays*Part of her must suspect that Val has an ulterior motive behind why she put the team together, and may even end up going along with things to get more information about her. Yelena knows that Hawkeye might be the best person to take down Val, especially with his possible connection to Kingpin. As such, Yelena could involve Hawkeye in Rays*which would be a meaningful way to tie up all the loose threads of the Hawkeye in a 2025 Wonder release.
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February 14, 2025
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July 25, 2025
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July 24, 2026