Do our eyes deceive us or are there mutants among us? Following Hugh Jackman’s return as Wolverine inDeadpool & Wolverine, it looks like the Marvel Cinematic Universe is filling its coffers with X-Men.Marvelmade the announcement at alivestreamed cast event forAvengers: Doomsdayon YouTube. Alongside a host of existing MCU actors—many familiar names from the Fox films were also announced.
X-Men Expected inAvengers: Doomsday
Surprisingly, despite being the only X-Man to lead an MCU film, Hugh Jackman was not included in the cast list forAvengers: Doomsday. Neither was Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool.
However, among the X-Men we have seen in theMCU, Kelsey Grammer will be returning as Hank McCoy/Beast. He was introduced in the MCU during the post-credits scene ofThe Marvels. Also returning will be Sir Patrick Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier. In the Fox films, Professor Xavier was last seen inX-Men: Days of Future Past, where he was still running his school for mutants after Wolverine saved mutantkind. In the MCU, Doctor Strange encountered a version of Professor Xavier on Earth-838 inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But that Professor Xavier was killed by the Scarlet Witch.
Despite fans calling for her return, it doesn’t look likeElizabeth Olsen will be backas Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch any time soon.
Surprising Additions toAvengers: Doomsday
Numerous other X-Men actors were also announced, and they’re almost all from the Fox films thatDeadpool & Wolverineseemingly said farewell to.
Sir Ian McKellen will be making his debut in the MCU as Magneto. His last appearance was also inX-Men: Days of Future Past, but only in the apocalyptic timeline where the sentinels were killing mutants. What happened to Magneto after the timeline changed is unknown.
In extremely surprising news, Alan Cumming will be joiningAvengers: Doomsday, presumably as Nightcrawler. Cumming’s Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler was only seen inX2: X-Men United. Cumming was reportedly offered a role inX-Men: The Last Standbut declined due to the extensive time required to do the make-up for the character.
Another blue character will be making her MCU debut. Rebecca Romijn will be returning as Mystique. Though Mystique lost her mutant abilities inThe Last Stand, Romijn did make a cameo in the prequel filmX-Men: First Class. In the comics, Mystique is Nightcrawler’s biological mother, though this storyline was not explored in the film universe.
James Marsden’s Cyclops was resurrected at the end ofDays of Future Pastand he too will be making his MCU debut withAvengers: Doomsday. Cyclops was killed early on inThe Last Stand, but appeared in a cameo alongside his long-time partner, Jean Grey, who had also been resurrected.
Outliers
The only real reference toDeadpool & Wolverinein theAvengers: Doomsdaycast announcement was the inclusion of Channing Tatum as Gambit. Tatum made a surprise appearance in Deadpool’s third outing as a wacky version of Gambit, following years’ of speculation about Tatum’s unproduced Gambit film. The Fox films already had a Gambit—Taylor Kitsch played the only live-action version of the character inX-Men Origins: Wolverine. But it looks like Tatum has taken the Gambit crown.
The X-Men Roster Appears Thin
While X-Men fans will be delighted to see so many actors reprising their roles from the Fox films, we can’t ignore the fact that Rebecca Romijn is the only female X-Men actor announced, at least, so far. It would be strange to have Cyclops without Famke Janssen’s Jean Grey. And the lack of Halle Berry’s Storm, one of the X-Men comics’ most popular characters, hasn’t gone unnoticed.
We can’t yet know if these are the only X-Men joining the MCU. But fans will certainly hope for more X-reveals soon.
Avengers: Doomsdayis slated for release on May 1, 2026
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