Marvel Studios has been hard at work keeping every potential secret detail of its upcoming film projects under wraps, but leaks do occur every so often. On July 1, 2026, a leak centered on two characters appearing in “Avengers: Doomsday” made the rounds online, revealing the potential looks for Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and Cyclops (James Marsden). The leak took the form of two images shared on X, sparking a debate over their authenticity. After more images surfaced, the leak won over more skeptics, as did Disney’s response to the post.
One of the best ways to tell whether a leak is real is to see how Disney responds, as the House of Mouse is more than happy to issue takedown requests for copyright infringement. If a leak isn’t legit, you typically don’t see Disney unleash its army of attorneys, but that appears to be the case with these images, though some remain online as of writing. While they’re awash in green and are low resolution, the characters themselves look like the actors playing them, and it’s immediately apparent that some changes to costume design could be seen when “Doomsday” is released in 2027.
Yelena and Cyclops Look Great in Latest ‘Doomsday’ Leak
The images of the two characters appear to be part of promotional materials or designs created during the production process. Whatever their source, they offer a look at the return of Marsden as Cyclops, a role he first played in 2000’s “X-Men.” Marsden returned for two sequels, and he also filmed a cameo in “X-Men: Days of Future Past, which came out in 2014, so his return is a long time coming. “Avengers: Doomsday” is shaping up to be Marvel Studios’ largest ensemble project to date, as it’s bringing in tons of actors from prior projects, as it previously did on a smaller scale in “Daredevil & Wolverine.”
In Marsden’s previous appearances, he didn’t wear the character’s traditional costume. That was a rule for the OG “X-Men” trilogy, which avoided the use of yellow spandex at all costs and even poked fun at it in one memorable scene. This new version of Cyclops appears to be far more comic book accurate, as well as accurate to Cyclops’ costume in “X-Men: The Animated Series” and “X-Men ‘97.” It’s green and grainy in the photo, but in all likelihood, the costume will be blue with a mostly yellow visor, a yellow belt, boots, and straps, which is sure to earn some approval from die-hard fans.
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Is Coming Into Focus Through Leaks
Yelena’s appearance doesn’t look too different from her many costume changes in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, though it’s unusual to see the character associated with either the X-Men or the Avengers. Granted, if “Doomsday” follows the comics that inspired it, that likely won’t matter. Pugh has appeared as Yelena on numerous occasions, beginning with 2021’s “Black Widow,” followed that same year by “Hawkeye,” and in 2025, she voiced the character in “Marvel Zombies” and played her as one of the film’s primary leads in “Thunderbolts*.”
“Avengers: Doomsday” is set to release on December 18, 2026, and will be followed one year later with “Avengers: Secret Wars,” which will likely see most of the cast return, in one variant form or another.
