The actor is addressing his superhero comeback alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming, and Kelsey Grammer. James Marsden describe

The actor is addressing his superhero comeback alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming, and Kelsey Grammer.

James Marsden describes Avengers: Doomsday return as a 'homecoming' to his X-Men role

The actor is addressing his superhero comeback alongside Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming, and Kelsey Grammer.

By Nick Romano

Nick is an entertainment journalist based in New York, NY. If you like pugs and the occasional blurry photo of an action figure, follow him on Twitter @NickARomano.

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Published on August 7, 2025 05:29PM EDT

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James Marsden at the 2024 Film Independent Spirit Awards and as Scott Summers/Cyclops in 'X-Men: The Last Stand'. Credit:

Kayla Oaddams/WireImage; Marvel Comics/ 20th Century Studios

James Marsden has issued his first remarks on his return to the *X-Men* character that made him famous in next year's *Avengers: Doomsday*.

The actor broached the topic with *Vanity Fair* in an interview about his Emmy nomination for Hulu's *Paradise*, calling his *Doomsday* casting as the mutant hero Cyclops "a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map."

"I'm getting a little long in the tooth to put on the superhero costume," Marsden told the publication, laughing. "I was excited because you're a part of something gigantic, and I've spent 20 years listening to people say, 'when are you coming back? When are you coming back? Are you coming back?'"

Marsden first portrayed Cyclops, a.k.a. Scott Summers, the leader of the X-Men team from Marvel comics who's capable of firing optic blasts, in 2000's *X-Men*. He reprised the role in the sequels *X2: X-Men United* (2003) and *X-Men: The Last Stand* (2006), the latter of which killed off him off.

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"I'm dead. Well, maybe not," Marsden added. "I'm going to have a tough time struggling to get into costume if they waited a couple more years. So it's been a blast. It really has. It's been a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map. It was the first real event project that I was ever a part of, and a very beloved character, this icon from the comics. And so to step back into that role was pretty special."

Since Disney acquired 21st Century Fox properties, including movie rights to the X-Men, the studio has made big moves to incorporate the characters into its Marvel Cinematic Universe lineup. *Avengers: Doomsday*, on the calendar for release Dec. 18, 2026, will now see Marsden's Cyclops return alongside his former X-colleagues Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier/Professor X), Ian McKellen (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto), Alan Cumming (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn, and Kelsey Grammer (Beast/Hank McCoy).

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Channing Tatum is also set to return as X-Men character Gambit after his debut in *Deadpool & Wolverine*.

Plot details on *Doomsday* are a bit scarce, but we know the film involves Robert Downey Jr. playing iconic Marvel villain Victor von Doom, a.k.a. Doctor Doom. And since Downey already had a box-office-busting run as Tony Stark/Iron Man, fans have speculated that the character could be from a parallel universe.

The X-Men of 'X2: X-Men United'.

20th Century Fox

**(Spoiler warning for *The Fantastic Four: First Steps*.)** Doom technically debuted in a post-credits scene attached to this summer's *The Fantastic Four: First Steps*. Viewers didn't get a shot of his face, but they did see him interacting with Franklin Richards, the cosmically powered son of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby). So it seems likely that Franklin will be involved in the *Doomsday* arc as well.

Downey's Doom will be the primary villain of both *Avengers: Doomsday* and *Avengers: Secret Wars* (2027). Marvel Studios chief Kevin Feige already made it known that *Secret Wars* "really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men." That said, the prime characters will be recast.

*Thunderbolts** director Jake Schreier is also on board to make an *X-Men* movie, which will be "a youth-focused reboot" of the characters, according to Feige. "The core idea of what *X-Men* is involves complexity," Schreier told the Playlist in a recent interview. "It's an incredible opportunity with super interesting characters and [much] internal conflict. These characters are wrestling with their identity and place in the world — that's inherently interesting and complex material."**

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