Marvel Studios officially confirmed the billing order for Avengers: Doomsday, and the placement of the film's X-Men actors says a lot about the star power they currently wield. The Russo brothers' upcoming Multiverse Saga blockbuster brings together heroes from three different universes, including those from the original X-Men franchise that launched the modern superhero movie boom 26 years ago. With so many big names crammed into one cast list, the order in which they appear on the official billing is a story in itself.
The full Avengers: Doomsday billing order was revealed by Disney during the Walt Disney Studios presentation at CinemaCon 2026, where Marvel Studios closed out the event with its first extended look at the film. In the order, Channing Tatum is billed 11th, ahead of Ian McKellen at 13th, James Marsden at 15th, and Patrick Stewart at 16th. Kelsey Grammer comes in at 22nd, Alan Cumming at 25th, and Rebecca Romijn at 28th.
Tatum reprises his role as Gambit after his scene-stealing debut in Deadpool & Wolverine, while McKellen returns as Magneto for the first time since 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Marsden is back as Cyclops, a role he originated in Bryan Singer's 2000 X-Men film, and Stewart returns as Professor Charles Xavier, a character he most recently played in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Kelsey Grammer also returns as Beast, building on his cameo in The Marvels, while Alan Cumming reprises Nightcrawler from 2003's X2: X-Men United. Rebecca Romijn is back as Mystique, too.
Why Channing Tatum and Ian McKellan Rank Above Other X-Men Actors on the Billing Order
It is tempting to equate billing order with character importance, but in Hollywood, placement rarely functions as a narrative ranking. Marvel Studios has historically used the top of the credits to reflect box office pull, with Robert Downey Jr. holding the number one spot on every Avengers film he appeared in for that exact reason. The Avengers: Doomsday billing order has little to do with how much screentime a character actually gets in the finished movie. The X-Men actors are not in the top 7 or 8 of the order, but they could have more impact and screen time than other actors who place higher.
What the billing order reflects is star power and, just as importantly, how hard an actor or their agent fought for a higher position on the billing. Billing is a negotiated part of any major studio contract, and a name placed a few slots higher than expected can mean a real bump in industry standing.
That's why someone like Patrick Stewart, who is a knighted screen legend with decades of work behind him, can end up below newer additions like Tatum on the official billing order. It's not a judgment on the character or the performance, but the result of deal-making that happened long before cameras rolled.
Channing Tatum appearing above Patrick Stewart on the cast list is likely because Tatum starred in a decent number of films in the past two years, alongside his Gambit arrival in Deadpool & Wolverine, which was one of the most talked-about moments of the 2024 movie. Stewart is a legendary figure, but outside his Multiverse of Madness appearance in 2022, he hasn’t starred in many noteworthy films since. Tatum's team likely leveraged his recent success to secure higher billing, though Stewart’s legendary status could have easily commanded a higher spot instead.
Ian McKellen's placement above Stewart and Marsden is also notable, given that the two actors have been friends and screen partners across the X-Men films for over two decades and command a similar level of respect in the industry. McKellen is an Oscar nominee and one of the most respected actors of his generation, so his agents likely used that as leverage to push for a higher spot. Stewart could have used that as leverage as well, but probably his agents didn’t negotiate as well as McKellen's did.
James Marsden's 15th slot comes as a bit of a surprise since Marsden has been Cyclops for over a decade and has built a strong post-X-Men career with Westworld, Sonic the Hedgehog, and Jury Duty. He's likely behind Tatum and McKellen because his team's negotiation wasn’t as strong as that of his two colleagues.
Kelsey Grammer's 22nd-place billing as Beast tracks with the path his X-Men return has taken. Grammer played Hank McCoy in X-Men: The Last Stand all the way back in 2006, made a cameo in Days of Future Past, then returned with a surprise post-credits cameo in The Marvels. It's safe to say his presence in the X-Men franchise hasn’t been as huge as his colleagues'.
Alan Cumming is also at 25 because he hasn't played Nightcrawler since X2: X-Men United in 2003, making his Avengers: Doomsday appearance a return more than 20 years in the making. This kind of absence usually works against an actor in billing negotiations, since recent visibility also plays a role in a film's marketing.
Rebecca Romijn, closing out the X-Men group at 28, follows the same pattern. Romijn was the original Mystique in the first three X-Men films from 2000 to 2006, before Jennifer Lawrence took over the role for the prequel series.
Her impact on the X-Men franchise should be enough to get her a higher spot, but her recent work has largely been on television with shows like Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, which likely played a role in her ranking so low.
Geraldo Amartey is a writer at The Direct. He joined the team in 2025, bringing with him four years of experience covering entertainment news, pop culture, and fan-favorite franchises for sites like YEN, Briefly and Tuko.
