Hayley Atwell Just Confirmed Her Peggy Carter Return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, and Fans Are Hoping the Frisbee Curse Is Finally Broken

Peggy Carter has died more times in the Marvel Cinematic Universe than most characters in the franchise combined. Between an off-screen passing referenced in ‘Captain America: Civil War,’ a peaceful old age glimpsed in ‘Avengers: Endgame,’ and a live-action Captain Carter variant who barely lasted a scene, Hayley Atwell has spent years playing a character the franchise never quite seems to know what to do with.

That last live-action appearance is the one fans still bring up. In ‘Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,’ Captain Carter delivered her signature line about being able to do this all day, only to be cut down almost immediately by Wanda Maximoff, wielding her own shield like a Frisbee.

Now, with Atwell officially confirmed to return as Peggy Carter in ‘Avengers Doomsday’ following Marvel’s Hall H panel at San Diego Comic Con, the hope among fans is that this version of the character finally gets treated with the respect she has earned. Atwell took the stage alongside Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, and Robert Downey Jr. as Marvel made her comeback official after months of speculation.

That speculation had been building since Evans himself confirmed his own return as Steve Rogers, since it never quite made sense to bring back Captain America without his defining love interest somewhere in the mix. Atwell’s presence in the film’s ensemble had circulated in trade reports for months, but Marvel held off on making anything official until the Comic-Con stage.

Atwell has never hidden how she felt about that earlier Doctor Strange cameo. She previously said the moment played like a punchline against her own character, explaining that after Captain Carter’s iconic line, audiences were left thinking she clearly could not do it all day since she got “sliced in half by a Frisbee,” she told Inverse back in 2023.

That frustration has followed the character ever since, turning her Doctor Strange death into something of a running joke among Marvel fans rather than the heroic moment it was clearly intended to be. It is easy to see why Atwell would want any future appearance to give Peggy more room to actually matter to the story.

Based on her comments following the Comic Con reveal, it appears to be exactly what she is hoping for this time. Atwell has suggested that every time she returns to the role, she wants Peggy to have something new to do, and that ‘Doomsday’ gives her character real stakes to respond to, given the scale of the film’s story.

Details of her actual role in ‘Doomsday’ remain under wraps, and it is still unclear whether she is playing the original Peggy from Steve Rogers’ timeline or another variant of Captain Carter, given the multiverse-heavy nature of the story. What is clear is that Marvel chose to save this reveal for one of the biggest moments of its Comic Con presentation, alongside news that Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom will lead the film’s ensemble against heroes pulled from three separate universes.

Whatever form Peggy takes this time, the fact that Marvel gave Atwell a proper stage moment rather than a surprise credits cameo suggests the studio understands what fans want out of this return. After years of quick exits and running jokes, Peggy Carter finally seems to be getting the buildup her legacy deserves.

‘Avengers Doomsday’ arrives in theaters on December 18, and fans will not have to wait much longer to see whether this appearance finally breaks the pattern for good.

Do you think Marvel will finally give Peggy Carter the ending she deserves this time, share your thoughts in the comments.