The recent announcement regarding the cast of Avengers: Doomsday brought plenty of surprises. But an aspect of the livestream that is worth mentioning is how it made a single joke from Deadpool & Wolverine much more relevant. During last summer’s blockbuster, Ryan Reynolds‘ protagonist amusingly states that Hugh Jackman will be forced to play Wolverine “until he’s ninety (years old).” Now, that could very well be the case for some of the actors who will be appearing in the upcoming Avengers 5, which will be directed by the Russo brothers.
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Marvel Studios announced that both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will appear in Avengers: Doomsday, presumably to reprise their respective roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto. Stewart is currently eighty-four years old; he will be eighty-five by the time the Marvel Cinematic Universe blockbuster hits the big screen. When it comes to Ian McKellen’s side of the situation, the star from The Hobbit will be almost eighty-six when Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) arrives in the Sacred Timeline. Was Deadpool right? Is Marvel Studios looking to keep several actors in their roles for the rest of their lives, just to lure in the nostalgic viewers?
The Return of Two Legends
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen defined the first X-Men movies that 20th Century Fox produced. Their respective performances as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto held together the moral conflict of the franchise. As the leader of the X-Men, Xavier tried to guide his students towards a lifestyle based on acceptance and love for both humans and mutants. But as the fearsome main antagonist of the series, Magneto wanted to get revenge on humans for everything they had done to his fellow mutants. Xavier and Magneto used to be friends in their youth; unfortunately for the entire planet, their differences would escalate to the point where they affected countless lives.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe has been attempting to cash in on fan nostalgia for a very long time. After working hard to build emotional story arcs over a decade, everything paid off with the release of the climactic Avengers: Endgame. But everything would change with the arrival of Phase Four: instead of building their foundation for a new story, Marvel attempted to create new emotional conclusions, using previously released movies as a base. Tobey Maguire‘s Peter Parker came to terms with being the protector of New York City, and a variant of Charles Xavier became a member of the Marvel Illuminati. But Marvel Studios didn’t lead up to any of it; the actors just came back for brief appearances to grab the viewers’ attention and generate trending topics.
This could be exactly what goes wrong with the X-Men characters in Avengers: Doomsday, and what started as a funny remark on Deadpool’s part could end up pointing to the franchise’s lack of creativity. Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen already had multiple conclusions to their respective character arcs. The first time took place during the events of X-Men: The Last Stand; the second one came in the form of X-Men: Days of Future Past. What can the next Avengers film offer for these characters other than quick returns for mere nostalgia? The fate of the multiverse will be at stake, but that doesn’t mean that there weren’t other options available.
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A Younger X-Men Cast Was Right There
X-Men: First Class served as an origin story for the characters and institutions audiences came to know in the first X-Men movie. James McAvoy was cast as Charles Xavier, while Michael Fassbender took on the role of Erik Lehnsherr. The prequel directed by Matthew Vaughn explained how the differences between Professor Xavier and Magneto came to be. And after preventing another World War in their first outing, these iterations of the characters went on to lead three more installments of the franchise. Audiences got to know these iterations of the classic Marvel characters over the course of a decade.
If Marvel Studios really wanted to include previous versions of Professor X and Magneto in their upcoming Avengers crossovers, they could’ve brought back the two stars who are still in the prime of their careers. The portion of the franchise that featured James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender ended abruptly due to the acquisition of 20th Century Fox by Disney. Allowing McAvoy and Fassbender to return to such an important crossover after an unworthy conclusion to their journey would’ve been a better way to pay homage to what came before the inevitable X-Men reboot set in the MCU.
The reality is that the original X-Men actors will be the ones to be involved in the fight against Doctor Doom next year. Not only will Professor X and Magneto take a stand once again, but Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos), Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) and Cyclops (James Marsden) will be given another chance to shine on the big screen. What started as a harmless joke made by Deadpool in his third movie could turn out to be a grim reality for these characters. Will Marvel actors be forced to reprise their roles until they’re ninety-year-olds only for quick nostalgia claps? Even the Time Variance Authority can’t say for sure.
Avengers: Doomsday has a release date of May 2, 2026.
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