Kevin Feige Teases Original X-Men’s Major Role In Avengers Doomsday

If recent Kevin Feige quotes are to be believed, Avengers: Doomsday will spotlight Marvel's original X-Men for significant roles. Doomsday is already confirmed to include the biggest cast of any Marvel movie in history, showing the Avengers joining forces with the Fantastic Four and countless legacy stars from before the MCU's existence. Looking at the size of their roles, X-Men fans should have plenty to look forward to.

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige gave an interview focused on Avengers: Doomsday's use of the Avengers alongside the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. Featuring at least three different universes (if not more), Doomsday will bring together generations of Marvel movie history for a story unlike anything fans have ever seen. Considering the love fans have for 20th Century Fox's original X-Men actors, it is almost no surprise that they will get their moment to shine.

Speaking with Marvel, Feige touched on how the Avengers movies are great for "introducing people to each other and seeing how very different personalities get along." 

Specifically touching on the Baxter Building set from The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which only had as many as five people in it at a time, Feige confirmed, "it's got a heck of a lot more people in it" during Avengers: Doomsday:

"That's always fun. The fun of an Avengers movie is introducing people to each other and seeing how very different personalities get along. In the case of a movie that involves the threat of worlds literally colliding, it's fun to see them visit each other’s homes. So with the Baxter Building set, let's say it had four or five people in it at most in the 'Fantastic Four' movie. And it's got a heck of a lot more people in it [in 'Doomsday']. It’s a thrill to see that interaction. And it's surreal for me, who's been around for 25 years."

Feige then looked back to his own history with Marvel, which started as an associate producer on 2000's X-Men movie. Asked what it meant to revisit those heroes in Doomsday, Feige called it "another dream that we just didn't think about" before noting that he and the team are "really delving into it with Doomsday:"

"It was another dream that we just didn't think about for many years. Deadpool & Wolverine scratched the surface of that. And now, we’re really delving into it with Doomsday."

Currently, six actors from the original X-Men trilogy are confirmed to be in the Doomsday cast, including Sir Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Sir Ian McKellen (Magneto), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), and James Marsden (Cyclops). More original stars may be confirmed before the film's release, but that might not come until late 2025 or early 2026.

Overall, 27 actors are confirmed for the cast of Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday, the MCU's fifth Avengers movie and the first in the Multiverse Saga. These various heroes will join forces to take on Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, whose undisclosed plan and intentions are likely to put multiple universes in danger of being lost forever. 

Avengers: Doomsday is currently filming and will be released in theaters on December 18, 2026.

What Role Will Original X-Men Actors Play in Avengers: Doomsday?

While more X-Men stars are likely to join this already-exciting group of actors, the big question moving forward is how they will fit into the film. Considering how powerful some of them are, including an Omega-level mutant in Ian McKellen's Magneto, their services and powers are going to be handy and necessary in taking down Doctor Doom.

Characters like Professor X and Cyclops could be in line to take instant leadership positions amongst the Avengers, who will need all the help they can get learning about alternate realities. 

Combine that with brilliant minds like Kelsey Grammer's Hank McCoy (already seen in The Marvels), and the mutants are sure to be no small players in protecting their world and others from destruction.

Doomsday is already confirmed to use the X-Men's mansion as a key locale, with multiple scenes rumored to take place inside this building for the first time in MCU history. 

More than likely, Earth-616's Avengers (and possibly Earth-828's Fantastic Four) will get an up-close look at this mansion as they meet the X-Men, changing everything some of them know about reality and other universes.

While plot details remain unclear, Doomsday is rumored to feature actors like Robert Downey Jr. and Chris Hemsworth as the biggest headlining stars (no surprise, considering their lengthy MCU tenures). 

However, with stars like Stewart, McKellen, Marsden, and Romijn having credits going as far back as 25 years, seeing them next to the Avengers will be one of the biggest full-circle moments in comic book film history.