Which X-Men Will Return in Avengers: Doomsday? The Ultimate Nostalgia Trip!

by

Summary

  • Marvel Studios is bringing back members of the original X-Men cast for Avengers: Doomsday, tapping into fan nostalgia.
  • The Fox X-Men timeline is convoluted, with multiple versions of characters and confusing storylines.
  • Marvel may streamline the returning X-Men for fan service, aiming for a more comic-book accurate aesthetic.

After multiple decades of playful hints and gradual expansions, it’s now becoming a reality: the X-Men are joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, contrary to some expectations, this isn’t about a fresh team of characters and actors. Instead, the initial X-Men squad in the MCU will consist of several returning members from the early 2000s Fox Studios’ X-Men films. This raises an intriguing question: which version of the X-Men are we seeing?

Actors like Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, who were part of the initial Fox X-Men trilogy, have been confirmed for the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday. However, the coherence of those X-Men films is far from perfect. As they grew increasingly complex and hard to follow, even diehard fans found it impossible to keep up, leaving today’s viewers puzzled about how these characters will fit into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

The Mass Confusion of the Fox X-Men Timeline

To illustrate the inconsistency in these films, let’s discuss the character of Cyclops. Initially portrayed by James Marsden in the first X-Men movie, Cyclops later met an off-screen demise following a brief appearance in X-Men: The Last Stand. Surprisingly, his next appearance was in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, where he had a different actor playing him. In the epilogue of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Marsden reprised his role as Cyclops. However, in the sequel to that film, X-Men: Apocalypse, a younger version of Cyclops (portrayed by a different actor yet again) was introduced, providing another take on his origin story.

The X-Men movies before Days of Future Past were intended to form a single, continuous story. However, this movie had time travel and changes to the timeline, which made it complex. This set up the franchise for new, exciting directions. But in X-Men: Apocalypse, these opportunities were wasted, leaving things mostly unchanged. For instance, Hugh Jackman’s character, Wolverine, is still transformed into Weapon X. However, there were enough puzzling alterations (like Angel being born decades earlier) to make the plot even more confusing.

As a diehard fan, I’ve always been intrigued about the timelines within the X-Men universe. It was puzzling whether films like Deadpool, Logan, and Dark Phoenix were all part of different timelines or the same one. For instance, Logan portrayed a story where most X-Men were dead, yet director James Mangold hinted that this might not be the future for the mainline series.

Moreover, in Deadpool 2, Ryan Reynolds jokingly lamented over not being able to afford the actual X-Men for the movie, oblivious to the fact that he was standing right in front of the cast from X-Men: Apocalypse – who were all younger versions of their characters set in the ’80s. Yet, Deadpool 2 is supposed to be set in the present day. This inconsistency has left many fans like me scratching our heads.

Marvel’s Desire to Milk Nostalgia

Speaking casually, it’s fair to say the timeline of the original X-Men movies has become confusing, but the initial versions of those on-screen heroes and their actors are still adored by many. Marvel Studios has shown a knack for leveraging nostalgia in recent projects, such as having Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home, or bringing Chris Evans’ Human Torch and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine together in Deadpool & Wolverine. Given this trend, it seems logical that Avengers: Doomsday would choose to bring back these original cast members.

Furthermore, matters took a turn for the worse towards the end of the series. The film “Dark Phoenix” was an unexpected flop, both critically and financially. Given this context, it’s logical that the MCU would opt for castings steeped in nostalgia over those from more recent years.

Which specific version of the X-Men is expected to appear in Avengers: Doomsday? Given that Marvel tends to draw inspiration from popular film eras, as demonstrated with the returning characters in No Way Home, it seems logical to infer they might choose the team depicted in X2: X-Men United. This film is widely acclaimed and often mentioned among the best superhero sequels ever made. Additionally, all the original cast members who are returning for Doomsday were part of this team. Since the events of X-Men: The Last Stand, characters like Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, and James Marsden’s Cyclops have either died or lost their powers. The Russo Brothers are likely to steer clear of this part of the timeline.

Streamlining the Old for Fan Service

In a twist, Deadpool and Wolverine brought a character resembling Hugh Jackman’s Logan from another timeline, making him similar enough to the movie version while also being truer to the comic book character (like wearing the costume). For their upcoming film, Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel might do something similar with returning characters. Since the superhero genre has evolved significantly since the early 2000s, Marvel may wish to have flexibility to adjust certain character appearances. They could opt for a more comic-book style appearance, while still benefiting from the nostalgia associated with these iconic characters.

To fully understand what this new X-Men adaptation promises, one need only look at a different Marvel Cinematic Universe film: “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.” In this movie, Patrick Stewart made his first appearance in the MCU as Professor X, reprising his role. However, unlike previous portrayals, he appeared in a wheelchair that was more faithful to the comic book version and less like the ones used in prior films. The iconic theme from “X-Men: The Animated Series” was played as he entered, connecting this character with its animated past. This way, Marvel managed to incorporate beloved aspects of X-Men’s history while still maintaining the familiarity of Patrick Stewart’s performance.

Anticipate that the lineup of X-Men characters in Avengers: Doomsday might follow a similar pattern. Given the fragmented and distinct nature of the Fox X-Men series, it’s reasonable to assume that Marvel may not feel bound to align with those movies. Instead, they are likely to employ the returning cast as a foundation for offering nostalgic nods to the audience.

Read More

2025-04-02 23:54