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How is Marvel Studios keeping track of all of the Avengers: Doomsday cast? Custom MCU baseball cards (with actors' contracts on the back)
Well, that's one way to keep track of a cast it took five and a half hours to announce
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On March 26, we here at Popverse (and let's face it, you at your job) sat glued to our computer screens as Marvel Studios unveiled the entire (?) cast of Avengers: Doomsday over the course of five and a half hours. We ended the stream with a long list of names - 27, by our count - and even though the folks behind the camera on this project have a ton of moviemaking experience, that's still a lot of names and faces to keep track of as you're making a movie - especially since each character on the list has a dedicated fanbase who will be heartbroken if their character doesn't get enough screentime. Fortunately, Marvel Studios has a solution:
Custom baseball cards.
Yes, according to an interview that Marvel Studios legends the Russo Brothers did with The Hollywood Reporter, the creatives in the writers' room for the massive upcoming ensemble film keep track of the many MCU actors via a series of custom baseball cards, made to depict the Marvel hero they play. And just to make sure there's no confusion about what's expected of them, the cards are equipped with the actor's contract on the back, telling the orchestrators of the MCU how many films they've signed on for.
(Not that I'm a Russo Bro, mind you, but I have to assume that, in terms of characters that will die in this movie, those with shorter contracts are more likely to be on the chopping block. And you thought Aubrey Plaza was the MCU's Grim Reaper.)
It's a fascinating, teensy bit hilarious method of directing the action of the Avengers films before (imagine, if you will, Kevin Feige dragging a tiny Mjolnir card over to a slightly larger Steve Rogers card), but its not a new creation for the MCU decision makers. According to the interview, the baseball cards were a carry-over from previous work on Avengers movies.
"[W]e continue to use the baseball cards," Anthony Russo told THR. His brother and co-director, Joe, expanded: "Now they have magnets on them so we can put ‘em on a board and look at ‘em. It’s the only way to keep track of the amount of characters that we’re working with."
For a business that relies so much on CGI flare and social media promotion, it's fun to think that, even today, movies are still made with tools like cards and magnets. One does have to wonder, though, if any of the actors get to keep their character's baseball cards, and if not, how much somebody else might have paid to acquire one.
I mean, an original Babe Ruth would be rare, but there's only ever been one Dr. Doom card used in the making of an MCU movie. Ebay's servers would explode, is all I'm saying.
Avengers: Doomsday comes to theaters May 1, 2026.
Consider this a meta post-credits scene for Marvel fans - the four key articles you need to read next to continue the thrills:
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