The MCU has been the talk of the entertainment town for so long that it's easy to forget there were superhero movies before it started. While virtually none of them crossed over with one another, they laid the groundwork for what Marvel Studios could do and the kind of talent it could attract. And now, nearly twenty years into its run, the MCU is returning the favor to its predecessors by bringing many pre-MCU Marvel actors back for Avengers: Doomsday.
So much of the conversation has been about the pieces Marvel Studios is moving around its own chessboard. For example, Robert Downey Jr., who played an instrumental part in growing the MCU by delivering standout performances as Tony Stark, aka Iron Man, time and time again, is back in the fold. But instead of playing the same hero again, he's back in a new role: the villain Doctor Doom.
Downey Jr. will share the screen with so many incredible performers, some of whom have spent even longer in the Marvel Studios machine than he has. However, there's a small group that even has seniority over him because they've been in the superhero game for a long, long time.
Avengers: Doomsday Actors Who Starred in Marvel Movies Before the MCU
Patrick Stewart
Marvel first tried its hand at an ensemble film with 2000's X-Men. And the powers that be knew they needed a steady hand to guide the film, so they brought in Patrick Stewart to play Professor Charles Xavier. Stewart appeared in numerous films in Fox's franchise and always brought his A-game. Avengers: Doomsday will serve as his final performance, as the icon sadly passed away at 86.
Ian McKellen
Wherever Professor X was in the X-Men films, Magneto, played by The Lord of the Rings star Ian McKellen, wasn't far behind. The Master of Magnetism was both a friend and a foe to the titular team over a nearly fifteen-year run. In Doomsday, he fights for the side of good, doing his part to protect his world from incursions that threaten to wipe it out.
James Marsden
James Marsden might be known as the guy from the Sonic the Hedgehog movies now, but he used to be at the top of the superhero food chain, bringing Cyclops to life in four X-Men movies. Despite walking away from the character for an oppurtinity at DC in the early 2000s, Marsden is back and ready to help his character unleash optic blasts on Sentinels and anything else that gets in his way.
Rebecca Romijn
Magneto couldn't take over the world by himself; fortunately, he found a master of disguise willing to back his cause. Under all of Mystique's blue makeup in the early X-Men films was Rebecca Romijn, who portrayed an outlandish comic book character with ease. She'll get another chance to turn blue in Doomsday, and she finally has a costume to call her own that surely made the makeup process a lot more tolerable.
Alan Cumming
Speaking of blue, Alan Cumming got familiar with the color while playing the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, which turned out to be his only appearance in the franchise. Nightcrawler stood out in one of Fox's best superhero efforts. Marvel Studios remembered that all these years later and decided to offer Cumming the oppurtunity to get back on the blue horse.
Kelsey Grammer
X-Men: The Last Stand put Kelsey Grammer in a very similar position. While Fox's third mutant-based movie wasn't nearly as good as the second, Grammer's Beast was a great addition to the cast. The MCU gave the actor a head start on his colleagues by bringing him back in The Marvels' post-credits scene. But he'll be back with the gang for Doomsday.
Chris Evans
Steve Rogers has been the heart and soul of the MCU since 2011, and that's all thanks to Chris Evans. Marvel Studios took a chance on the actor, who had seemingly already punched his Marvel card by playing Johnny Storm, aka Human Torch, in Tim Story's Fantastic Four movies. The risk paid off, and now Kevin Feige and Co. can't imagine making an Avengers movie without him.
Bonus: Hugh Jackman
Rumors keep circulating online about Hugh Jackman's involvement in Doomsday. Marvel Studios still hasn't confirmed a role for the Wolverine actor, despite his and Ryan Reynolds' consistent attempts to crash the party. However, it's hard to imagine the powers that be bringing him back for Deadpool & Wolverine, only to put him back on ice when the X-Men finally reunite on screen.
Bonus: Tobey Maguire
Around the same time the X-Men were finding their footing on the big screen, Sony decided it was time for Spider-Man to do the same. Tobey Maguire landed the highly coveted role and never looked back, appearing in three highly successful movies. Of course, Spider-Man: No Way Home felt like a great swan song for the actor, as he finally got to share the screen with Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. But there's been a lot of whispering about another appearance by Maguire in Doomsday, one that could see him face off against his pre-MCU mutant pals.
