When you hear that you’re getting a “body scan,” you probably assume it’s tied to a medical procedure—not that your entire physical likeness is being quietly archived for potential future use in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
But that’s allegedly what happened to MCU star Kat Dennings, who casually dropped the revelation while addressing her status in Avengers: Doomsday.
Dennings made the comment while on the set of her series Shifting Gears, where she was quick to shut down rumors about appearing in the upcoming Avengers installment.
In a clip shared by Entertainment Tonight, Dennings walked viewers through her current standing in the MCU.
Dennings addressed speculation about her involvement in Avengers: Doomsday:
“I am in the [Marvel] universe and, as you know, I can’t tell you anything. But I am not in it. I mean, I’m not in it. I am telling you right now, I’m not in it. If I were in it, which I’m not, I couldn’t tell you, but I literally am not. I’m sure they already filmed it. I was here [on set]. I’m not in it…”
Dennings has played Darcy Lewis in the MCU since her debut in Thor in 2011, most recently appearing in Thor: Love and Thunder in 2022. So when she definitively ruled out joining Earth’s Mightiest Heroes in Avengers: Doomsday, set to premiere in December, that should have been the end of the story.
Instead, it was her follow-up explanation that raised more than a few Vibranium-strength eyebrows.
Dennings revealed what Marvel Studios already has on file:
“But they did scan me, so to be honest, they could put me in anything they want at this point. I’m in the system.”
Did you hear that? It’s the multiverse of body scans quietly cracking open.
And, yes, Dennings’s comments sure feel ominous, particularly as actors continue to raise alarms about artificial intelligence and digital replicas. On the other hand, body scans are becoming more common for visual effects and continuity, but actors have increasingly said they aren’t always fully informed about how their likenesses may be used—or reused—down the line.
You can view Dennings’s interview here:
Dennings isn’t the only performer fueling speculation about Avengers: Doomsday. The Traitors host Alan Cumming recently told Gold Derby that he filmed scenes for the movie “in isolation,” without interacting with other cast members.
Cumming described his experience filming Avengers: Doomsday:
“I did the entire film in isolation. Lots of green screen, face replacement. They even gave characters fake names. I don’t know who I was acting with half the time. I broke the internet by mentioning something once, but honestly, I might have got it wrong.”
Other actors have spoken more broadly about their unease with body scans themselves.
Olivia Williams, who appears in Dune: Prophecy, has previously described how casually the process can be introduced on set.
“A friendly assistant director who is already known to you, who brings you tea and holds your phone while you’re acting, says that the VFX [visual effects] team are in today – and just after you finish the scene, could you pop over to the VFX bus? And off you go.”
That… actually sounds kind of nice. Tea and a VFX bus? Count us in.
Still, not everyone is reassured. Nicolas Cage, who is set to star in Sony’s upcoming Marvel project Spider-Noir, recently voiced deep concern over how body scans could be used.
Cage spoke to the New York Times about digital replicas:
“They have to put me in a computer and match my eye color and change — I don’t know. They’re just going to steal my body and do whatever they want with it via digital AI. … God, I hope not AI. I’m terrified of that.”
While there are non-AI reasons to scan actors on set, the pace of technological change has made those assurances feel increasingly fragile.
Studios can now digitally insert deceased actors into films, as seen when former Superman stars George Reeves and Christopher Reeve appeared in The Flash. Neither actor was body-scanned during their lifetime, which raises obvious questions about what becomes possible when studios do have high-resolution scans on file.
Cage himself was digitally referenced in The Flash in 2023, starring Ezra Miller, Sasha Calle, and Michael Keaton, who reprised his role as the Batman.
Cage continued his warning about digital likenesses:
“I’ve been very vocal about it. And it makes me wonder, you know, where will the truth of the artists end up? Is it going to be replaced? Is it going to be transmogrified? Where’s the heartbeat going to be? I mean, what are you going to do with my body and my face when I’m dead? I don’t want you to do anything with it!”
The remark sparked immediate concern online, with fans debating whether Dennings’s scan was standard VFX practice or a quiet Avengers: Doomsday spoiler hiding in plain sight.
You can view the reactions here:
Dennings currently stars in the sitcom Shifting Gears alongside Tim Allen. The series centers on Matt, a stubborn, widowed owner of a classic car restoration shop whose life is turned upside down when his estranged adult daughter, Riley, and her kids move in, forcing a family “restoration” alongside the automotive ones.
But Dennings’s offhand admission about being “in the system” lands in a far less cozy context. While high-profile actors like Dennings, Williams, and Cage can publicly question how their likenesses are used, background actors have historically had far less leverage.
During the 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike, it emerged that studios proposed using AI to replicate extras, with an AMPTP offer that would have allowed their digital likenesses to be reused in perpetuity. The strike ultimately led to new guardrails, requiring studios to obtain informed written consent before creating or using a digital replica of an actor.
Still, as VFX technology continues to evolve, Dennings’s body scan underscores the lingering unease at the center of the debate. In an industry built on expensive and effects-heavy sequels, multiverses, and digital resurrection, the question isn’t just whether studios can reuse an actor’s image, but how much consent and control performers truly retain once they’re scanned.
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