Marvel Studios seemingly confirmed when the leaked Avengers: Doomsday trailer featuring the X-Men will officially arrive online following the premiere of the second teaser highlighting Chris Hemsworth's Thor. Marketing has been ramping up for Doomsday as fans look forward to its highly anticipated premiere in December 2026, starting with the release of the Steve Rogers-centric teaser trailer that confirmed Chris Evans' return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
The Steve Rogers-focused trailer first premiered during the opening week of Avatar: Fire and Ash screenings before being released online on Tuesday, December 23, at 9:00 a.m. ET. The trend continued today, December 30, with the release of the Thor-centric trailer by Marvel Studios. Following this weekly rollout, it is all but confirmed that the leaked X-Men trailer (which is now playing in theaters) will arrive online on Tuesday, January 6, at 9:00 a.m. ET.
This is part of Marvel Studios' four-part trailer release strategy for Avengers: Doomsday to drum up hype for the upcoming MCU crossover movie.
The leaked X-Men trailer has been making noise across social media due to the first (unofficial) look at the returns of Patrick Stewart's Charles Xavier, Ian McKellen's Magneto, and James Marsden's Cyclops.
The one-minute trailer begins with dark scenes inside the X-mansion before it slowly pans to a metal plate that says "Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters."
The camera then moves around the mansion before showing Professor X in the distance. Xavier's wheelchair is then pushed to the forefront before a King chess piece floats in the air.
A blurry image of Magneto can be seen in the background before a shot of Professor X and Magneto is shown, reaching out and holding hands. As it turns out, the lifelong friends are playing chess just as they used to, which then shows a smiling Professor X wearing a blue jacket with a black and red X symbol. It then pans to the first clear look at Magneto, who seems to be much older than his previous on-screen appearance.
The money shot of the trailer then unveils a stunning look at James Marsden wearing a comic-accurate Cyclops costume. Scott, with his face covered in what appears to be mud and blood, is seen removing his visor as a blast of energy erupts from his eyes.
In the background, a Sentinel moving behind him can be seen, indicating that this is the X-Men's potential final stand against these mutant-killing machines in Avengers: Doomsday.
The confirmation that the Sentinels are involved aligns with the previous report that Doctor Doom will use these machines as his secret weapons against the X-Men in the 2026 MCU movie.
Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and James Marsden are not the only X-Men legacy actors who will return in Doomsday. They will be joined by a slew of returning favorites, namely Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique).
Avengers: Doomsday is set to premiere in theaters on December 18, 2026.
Why Avengers: Doomsday Will Finally Give the X-Men Their Biggest Moments
Avengers: Doomsday will not only give the Earth's Mightiest Heroes and the Fantastic Four their respective spotlights, but it will also push the X-Men into the forefront by giving them their due on the big screen alongside some of the iconic heroes that Marvel has to offer.
Patrick Stewart's 2026 MCU return as Professor X has the opportunity to fix a longtime X-Men injustice by giving him a more heroic path rather than killing him off too quickly (similar to what happened to him in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness before the Scarlet Witch killed him).
The shot of Cyclops unleashing his optic blast in the field of Sentinels not only ramped up the hype for Doomsday, but it could also signal that the X-Men will finally be given the chance to showcase what they are really made of instead of relying on nostalgia as an anchor for their returns.
Aside from redeeming Cyclops (who had an abrupt end to his journey in X-Men: The Last Stand), the shot of Scott showing the full extent of his powers could also mean that the other X-Men, like Beast, Nightcrawler, and Gambit, will be featured in high-impact moments in Doomsday.
While Doomsday serves as a grand send-off to Fox's X-Men, seeing these characters alongside the Avengers would bring familiarity before eventually passing the torch to a new generation in the MCU's looming Mutant Saga.
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