The X-Men are finally set to make their debut in the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday, but some actors are not likely to return. Marvel’s mutant heroes have long been some of the most consistently popular characters in the comics, although their movie history has left much to be desired. Their long-awaited MCU debut is finally approaching, with many of the stars of Fox’s X-Men movies announced as returning in the cast of Avengers: Doomsday. Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, James Marsden’s Cyclops, and Ian McKellen’s Magneto are all set to return, alongside a handful of other actors from Fox’s X-Men franchise. However, an update from one of the franchise’s original stars rules out the return of a major hero.
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Speaking with Entertainment Weekly about a potential return in Avengers: Doomsday, Famke Janssen, who played Jean Grey in Fox’s original trilogy of X-Men movies, stated that Marvel had “never, ever” asked her to return in the upcoming MCU movie. While Doomsday has already cast a number of stars from Fox’s original X-Men movies, including supporting characters such as Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, it seems that, despite playing one of the trilogy’s most important characters, Janssen will not be returning. Other X-Men characters returning for Doomsday without Janssen’s Jean Grey might feel like a missed opportunity, but it actually makes sense on some levels.
Famke Janssen Not Returning Might Actually Be A Good Sign
Jean Grey’s role in Fox’s X-Men movies was a pretty major one, overshadowed only by the stories of characters such as Professor X and Magneto. As one of Marvel’s most powerful mutant characters, this made sense for the franchise. However, with Jean Grey being so prominent across two different timelines, both of which adapted her iconic Dark Phoenix story from the comics, her not being included in Avengers: Doomsday might be a blessing in disguise, especially with so many other X-Men movie characters already confirmed as returning.
As one of the most powerful characters in the X-Men movie franchise, Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix story was a major moment in both timelines. Bringing the character into the MCU, even if only for the sake of the Multiverse Saga’s finale, would be a potentially distracting development. Either Doomsday would need to establish her origin from a separate third timeline, or otherwise undo the Dark Phoenix story of the previous franchise in some other way. Needing to do so would only distract from Doomsday‘s wider story, which is already set to have a momentous impact on the MCU’s own Multiverse narrative.
Amid speculation that Doomsday could be an Avengers vs X-Men movie, Famke Janssen’s lack of involvement might be for the best. After all, Jean Grey is a far more powerful character than the majority of established MCU heroes, and she would undoubtedly tip the scales in the mutants’ favor. Though it’s a disappointing development for fans of the character and of Fox’s X-Men movies in general, at least Janssen’s comments offer some more definitive news on what to expect about Avengers: Doomsday.
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