Did Marvel Just Cast the Beyonder for Avengers Secret Wars With Noah Jupe?

Marvel just made a casting move that has fans asking whether the Beyonder is finally coming to the screen. According to an exclusive from Deadline, Noah Jupe has been cast in a secret role for Avengers Secret Wars, and Deadline's report makes clear this is not some background part.

Deadline wrote that "sources told Deadline that Noah Jupe has been tapped for a secret role in Avengers Secret Wars, which is set to go into production later this year," adding that "while unknown, the role is expected to play a key part in the story of Secret Wars." Anthony and Joe Russo are directing, Kevin Feige is producing, and the film is set for December 17th, 2027. That the role is described as unknown but still key tells me Marvel is trying hard to keep this one locked up.

Noah Jupe and Sadie Sink reunite after starring together in the West End's Romeo and Juliet

There is a fun personal connection here too. Sadie Sink and Noah Jupe just worked together on the West End revival of Romeo and Juliet, and now they are set to share the screen again, because Sadie Sink is also confirmed by Deadline to be appearing in Avengers Secret Wars. I do not know if someone at Marvel watched that production and got the idea, or if Sadie herself put in a word for her co-star, but it is a nice bit of symmetry that they will now be reuniting in the MCU.

As I put it, "Deadline's got some good sources for Secret Wars, it looks like," given how many pieces of this casting puzzle are coming from the same outlet.

Why fans think Jupe's look points to the Beyonder

The casting news alone would be notable, but it is the photos that have set off the Beyonder theories. Jupe's hairstyle and general look in recent images line up closely with how the Beyonder has been depicted, right down to a jacket look in one side by side comparison that people have been circulating. It would make sense for the character to show up given how central the Beyonder and the Beyonders are to both the 1984 and 2015 versions of Secret Wars in the comics.

The Beyonder's near unmatched power and role in the 1984 Secret Wars

In the original 1984 comic, pre retcon, the Beyonder is described as almost unmatched by anyone in the Marvel universe, at one point said to have the power of a million multiverses. He can create entire multiverses himself and destroy them. In that story he literally creates Battleworld, pulls heroes and villains onto it, and tells them to fight, promising the winner anything they want, saying nothing is beyond his limits and declaring "I am from the beyond." Doctor Doom eventually takes the Beyonder's power in that original story, which matters because something similar could play out in the new films.

The Beyonders, Doctor Doom, and the power grab of the 2015 Secret Wars

The 2015 version, particularly the Time Runs Out storyline leading into it, seems to be what the new Secret Wars is really pulling from. In that story incursions are destroying the multiverse universe by universe, and Doctor Doom, going by a different identity in the comic, tries to stop it by killing versions of Molecule Man, who are essentially living bombs planted identically across every universe by the Beyonders themselves. Doom eventually realizes he and Molecule Man cannot save the multiverse that way, so he goes after the Beyonders directly. They exist outside the multiverse and were tasked with maintaining it, but chose to destroy it instead. Doom takes their power, using a mass of Molecule Man energy that I believe traces back to energy the Beyonders put into the negative zone, and uses it to create Battleworld, a combination of many different universes.

Would Doom get the Beyonder's power in Doomsday, or does that wait for Secret Wars

Even with all of that comic history, it looks like Doomsday itself will not feature the Beyonder. It is not confirmed that Jupe is even playing the character, though it would make sense for one to show up eventually. For Doomsday, it seems Doom is going to get his power some other way, possibly by taking it from Loki, maybe the Scarlet Witch, or Doctor Strange, along with some kind of spell and artifacts.

What interests me is that the Beyonders exist outside the multiverse and were the ones responsible for maintaining it while wanting to destroy it, so if someone else tries to wipe out the multiverse, it would likely get their attention. In both versions of the comic, Doctor Doom ends up with the power of the Beyonder or Beyonders, so I wonder if he becomes even more powerful in Secret Wars. If the heroes whose power he is borrowing in Doomsday abandon him once they realize he is the villain, then picking up the Beyonder's power afterward would be a compelling twist.

The other frontrunner is a grown up Franklin Richards, and an X-Men role seems less likely

The second character I think Jupe could be playing is a grown up Franklin Richards, son of Sue Storm and Reed Richards. We have already seen a glimpse of his power in Fantastic Four First Steps, where Sue dies and Franklin brings her back, with Galactus stating that Franklin possesses the power cosmic. In the comics Franklin can create pocket dimensions, and at the end of the 2015 Secret Wars, he, Reed Richards, and Molecule Man are the ones who essentially recreate the multiverse by throwing new universes back out into existence.

Leaked concept art for Secret Wars reportedly shows Sue Storm and her son Franklin standing beside Doctor Doom's throne, which suggests a possible time jump that would explain Franklin appearing grown up. There is also a chance Jupe could be playing a new X-Men character, since we know older and newer X-Men will factor into Doomsday and likely Secret Wars. But since Marvel just did its big X-Men casting announcement and this role is being kept secret and described as key, I do not think this is going to be one of the new X-Men. My guess lands on either the Beyonder or Franklin Richards, and while the Beyonder feels like a harder sell at this point, it is not impossible, and either choice would be a massive addition to the story.

Which character do you think Noah Jupe is actually playing in Avengers Secret Wars?