Just when you thought “Avengers: Age of Ultron” was the biggest title in the superhero genre, Marvel is raising the stakes again. On Thursday, the studio announced the updated character roster for the upcoming film “Captain America: Civil War” with three big names added to the list.

The film, which will debut after Paul Rudd brings “Ant-Man” to life in July, demands a big cast of Marvel heroes in order to do the comic book storyline justice. In it, Captain America (Chris Evans) battles Tony Stark (Robert Downey Jr.) over a superhero’s right to maintain a secret identity. It was previously reported that Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen), Black Widow (Scarlett Johansson), Falcon (Anthony Mackie), Black Panther (Chadwick Boseman), Agent Sharon Carter (Emily VanCamp), the Winter Soldier (Sebastian Stan), Baron Zemo (Daniel Brühl) and Hawkeye (Jeremy Renner) would be joining the Avengers-level cast of characters, but Marvel announced today that War Machine (Don Cheadle) and Vision (Paul Bettany) will join the fray as well.

This seemingly confirms what many fans concluded during the final shot of “Avengers: Age of Ultron” in which [SPOILER ALERT] Captain America and Black Widow rally a group of secondary Marvel heroes to act as the new team of Avengers – all of whom are now confirmed for “Cap 3.” However, the comic book powerhouse wasn’t done adding to the cast there. After Paul Rudd’s solo stint as “Ant-Man” he’ll be donning the shrinking costume immediately to join “Civil War.” The actor teased his involvement in the film at CinemaCon, but it was far from concrete news at the time.

If you thought the inclusion of Ant-Man was the biggest surprise of Marvel’s latest announcement – you’d be wrong. Also listed in the cast is General Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross (William Hurt), whom very devoted Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) fans will remember as the U.S. military antagonist from the 2008 black sheep movie “The Incredible Hulk.” It seemed both fans and the studio were content to make sure this Edward Norton-led addition to the cannon was never seen or heard from again until Marvel Studios decided to bring him back into the fold.

While a plot synopsis for the film was officially released a while ago, an updated one came with the casting news that mentions the events that took place in “Avengers: Age of Ultron.”

”’Captain America: Civil War’ picks up where ‘Avengers: Age of Ultron’ left off, as Steve Rogers leads the new team of Avengers in their continued efforts to safeguard humanity. After another international incident involving the Avengers results in collateral damage, political pressure mounts to install a system of accountability and a governing body to determine when to enlist the services of the team. The new status quo fractures the Avengers while they try to protect the world from a new and nefarious villain.”

Although he was left out of the announcement, many comic book fans believe that Marvel will take this opportunity to introduce its new Spider-Man to the mix. However, with the cast already bloated with superheroes beyond even the latest “Avengers’” capacity, perhaps Marvel Studios president Kevin Fiege is saving that reveal for a different Phase 3 movie.

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