We are very unlikely to see these Marvel Cinematic Universe characters returning in Marvel Studios’ upcoming 2026 movies and TV shows. 2026 is set to be a banner year for Marvel Studios, kicking off in January with Wonder Man and coming to a close in December with the much-anticipated Avengers: Doomsday. Daredevil: Born Again, Spider-Man: Brand New Day, The Punisher, X-Men ’97, VisionQuest, and Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man will be hitting our screens throughout the year, bringing back many iconic MCU stars, but there are others we won’t be seeing.

Not every MCU actor is jumping at the chance of coming back to the franchise, while the impact of some characters have also been soured by recent controversies. After a series of comparatively poor box office and critical performances, there are also several MCU characters whose fates have been left uncertain. This means that 2026 is unlikely to include some of the most important, fan-favorite, and powerful characters recently introduced to the MCU, which is a huge shame.

5) Marc Spector’s Moon Knight

It was fantastic to see Oscar Isaac join the MCU in 2022 as Marc Spector and his alters, Steven Grant and Jake Lockley, the avatar of Khonshu and the antihero known as Moon Knight. However, Isaac recently commented about not being so open to work with Disney following talk-show host Jimmy Kimmel’s suspension in September 2025. Isaac demanded changes at the studio and across the industry to remove political oversight, and while he was talking about returning to the role of Poe Dameron in the Star Wars franchise, but this also unfortunately makes a return as Moon Knight unlikely.

4) Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk

Similarly to Oscar Isaac, Tatiana Maslany has been outspoken in her criticisms of Disney and its CEO, Bob Iger. Maslany debuted as Jennifer Walters’ She-Hulk in She-Hulk: Attorney at Law, but saw little support from Disney when met with criticism herself. Despite being one of the MCU’s most interesting and powerful new heroes, She-Hulk is unlikely to be seen anytime soon given Maslany’s continued calls to boycott Disney+, Hulu, and ESPN due to political influence, poor treatment of workers, and Iger’s “out of touch” management of the studio.

3) Kang the Conqueror

Kang the Conqueror and his villainous variants were introduced to the MCU in 2021 as the new primary antagonist of the Multiverse Saga. This was incredibly exciting, but Jonathan Majors’ arrest and conviction on two misdemeanor counts of assault and harassment in 2023 ruined these plans, as he was swiftly fired from Marvel Studios. Many theorized that Kang could have been replaced, but Robert Downey Jr.’s recasting as Doctor Doom has ousted Kang as the MCU’s big bad. It’s possible Kang could return in the future, but it’s very unlikely we’ll see him in 2026.

2) Nick Fury

Ever since the MCU’s first movie, Iron Man, Nick Fury has been a central part of the franchise. Samuel L. Jackson’s former Director of SHIELD originally brought together the Avengers, and aided the team’s members during many of their solo adventures. He has appeared, albeit briefly, in all four current Avengers movies, so it would be great to see him in Avengers: Doomsday. However, after recent disappointments in Secret Invasion and The Marvels, Nick Fury’s fate in the MCU has been left uncertain, so we’re not entirely sure we’ll actually see him return in 2026.

1) The Eternals

Upon its release as part of the MCU’s Phase 4, Eternals received a huge amount of criticism, which prompted Marvel Studios to practically cancel any plans for sequels or bringing its titular Celestial-empowered characters back. More recently, however, Eternals has received retrospective praise, which means it’s now a huge shame we haven’t seen the Eternals in live-action since 2021. We would love to see Sersi, Phastos, and Kingo’s mysterious travels with Arishem explained, and get closure for Eros’ debut alongside Druig, Thena, and Makkari. It’s unlikely this will happen in any 2026 project, however.

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