After hearing Anthony Mackie’s comments about the X-Men in the build up to the release ofAvengers: Doomsday, I need oneMarvelmovie moment audiences have dreamed of for what feels like millennia to finally become reality even more. The upcomingstory ofAvengers: Doomsdayhas been the subject of understandable and increasing audience fascination ever since it was first announced. Indeed, with the fifth Avengers movie going from beingAvengers: The Kang Dynastyto this new Doctor Doom-led title, it was hard to not be immediately interested in the unexpected paththe MCU timelinewas taking itself in.
Even before the latest news aboutAvengers: Doomsday’s cast, the announcement that Robert Downey Jr would play Doctor Doom also drew curiosity from prospective viewers, mixed between interest in whether the Iron Man actor could pull off now playing a villain, and how theupcoming MCU moviewould justify Victor Von Doom looking like Tony Stark. As time has gone on, more news has drawn even more intrigue about this next chapter of the franchise, with its updates about the X-Men’s role in the story raising one particularly exciting story prospect for the road forward.
Avengers: Doomsday’s X-Men Cast Confirmations Make The Upcoming Movie More Exciting Than Ever
While the fifth Avengers movie was already looking to be an exciting installment in the MCU timeline before its newest updates, the newAvengers: Doomsdaycast updates certainly cemented anticipation for this next chapter of the franchise’s wider story. Not only did the March 2025 cast announcement reveal that several key Marvel figures like the Thunderbolts and Thor and Loki would be in the movie, it also confirmed thatseveral Fox X-Men actors would be reprising their roles as part of the film’s character rosteras well.
This included previously teased characters like Channing Tatum’s Gambit and Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy - with this presumably being the same version of Beast we see in thepost-credits scene ofThe Marvelsshowing Monica Rambeau in an alternate universe - and Patrick Stewart as Professor X, returning once more after the variant of Xavier he played inDoctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madnesswas killed alongside his fellow other members of the Illuminati. However, the roster also features a range of actors and characters that we haven’t seen in a live-action movie in some time.
With the last Fox X-Men movie being 2020’sThe New Mutants- which focused on mutant characters who hadn’t yet joined the X-Men and little to no references to the team - the last time the Fox’s X-Men appeared on-screen was 2019’sDark Phoenix, which is now 6 years old.
Not only will Ian McKellen be returning on-screen as Magneto - raising some truly fascinating potential regarding his Magneto and Stewart’s Professor X appearing alongside one another once more - but he will be joined by Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, and James Marsden’s Cyclops. With many of these specific characters last appearing over a decade ago on-screen - and Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler specifically last appearing over 2 decades ago inX-Men 2- there’s plenty of reason to look forward to seeing these returns, especially given some of the latest comments on the matter.
Anthony Mackie’s Comments About The X-Men Captain America Will Be Sharing The Screen With Makes An Avengers & X-Men Team-Up All The More Exciting
After it was revealed several Fox X-Men actors would be returning in the story ofAvengers: Doomsday, Captain America actor Anthony Mackie was asked about what X-Men character he was most excited to appear alongside in the upcoming film in aninterview withScreenRant’sJoe Deckelmeier. Mackie expressed considerable excitement about the X-Men and his connection to them, as well as the prospect of them entering the next Avengers movie that he will also be helming as Sam Wilson, stating:
Look, I am a big Cyclops fan. That’s my favorite X-Men. I have a Cyclops action figure on my key chain that I’ve had since high school. When I was in high school, the X-Men cartoon was really big, and this was before the movies. I’ve always been a huge Cyclops fan, and I’m really, really excited - hopefully, knock on wood - for them to be a part of it and come into it. [I’m excited] to hang out with Xavier and Beast and all those guys. But my favorite is Nightcrawler. If I can hang out with one character? Me and Nightcrawler in the French Quarter during Mardi Gras for two weeks, that’s what I do.
With this in mind, the prospect of seeing the Fox X-Men and MCU Avengers team up - and possibly actively tag-team fight alongside one another - seems all the more promising.Not only would this mean that the two groups team up while the Avengers are led by a character whose real-life actor is a self-proclaimed huge fan, but it also means that Mackie’s long-time appreciation of Cyclops and Nightcrawler could manifest via some on-screen fight assists.
This is especially possible given Kevin Feige previously stated in anannouncement aboutAvengers: Doomsdayat the 2025 CinemaConthat the Avengers, the Wakandans, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts, and the original X-Men will be fighting Doctor Doom in the movie, which certainly reinforces the idea that the X-Men and Avengers can work closely together on-screen, much as these other factions hopefully will. Indeed, since Cyclops is often the leader of the X-Men when it comes to missions and fights, him working directly alongside Captain America would seemingly make particular sense.
Why Avengers: Doomsday & Avengers: Secret Wars' Stories Are The Perfect Way To Bring The X-Men Into The MCU Spotlight For Good
The Marvels,Doctor Strange In The Multiverse Of Madness,Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, andDeadpool & Wolverineall shone a spotlight on Marvel’s mutant characters in different ways - but in ways that always avoided fully delving into or showing the X-Men as a group, even when they were alluded to or otherwise addressed. As such,Avengers: Doomsdayseemingly taking a far more direct approach is that much more striking, particularly since it seemed likeDeadpool & Wolverinewas a fond farewell of sorts to the Fox X-Men movies, even ending with a montage of the Fox films.
Not only is theAvengers: Doomsdaycast bringing back a selection of very notable X-Men actors and characters, it’s doing so in a way where the MCU spotlight is on the X-Men in a more central way than ever. Having X-Men characters crossover with the Avengers is something fans have been hoping for since pretty much day one, and the prospect of the groups fighting alongside one another seems almost too good to come true, despite Kevin Feige having teased as much for the future, and despite it being the premise of a wide array of Marvel’s own comics.
With the franchise having skirted ever closer to making the X-Men a concrete part of the main MCU world, the time seems right to lean into their presence inAvengers: Doomsday- potential Avengers and X-Men tag team fight and all - and use this as a proper MCU welcome. GivenAvengers: Secret Warsoffers the perfect excuse for a soft universe reboot - and Anthony Mackie being far from the only person who has fond memories of the X-Men and would like to see them blossom on-screen - it seems the stage is well and truly set for an epic on-screen revival.
