Even after Marvel’s recent cast announcement, there are still several other X-Men members we want to see return to theMCUin Phase 6’s upcomingAvengers: Doomsday. At the end of March, Marvel Studios revealed the first 27 actors confirmed to be returning inDoomsday, including members of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. These heroes will come together to battle Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, but we don’t think Marvel has revealed the complete roster ofAvengers: Doomsday’simpressive returning cast.
Perhaps the biggest surprises and most exciting revelations in Marvel’sAvengers: Doomsdaycast reveal were delivered when severalclassic X-Men actors were confirmedto be reprising their roles. This includes Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, Rebecca Romijn and Alan Cumming, while they’ll also be joined byDeadpool & Wolverine’sChanning Tatum.We want even more classic X-Men stars to return, however, as this announcement includes just a few of the incredible stars of20th Century Fox’sX-Menfranchise.
10Hugh Jackman as James “Logan” Howlett’s Wolverine
Hugh Jackman Last Appeared As Wolverine In 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine
It was surprising that Hugh Jackman’s name didn’t appear in Marvel Studios' cast announcement forAvengers: Doomsday, as we have already seen himreturn to the MCU as Wolverineyears after his retirement from the role in 2017’sLogan. 2024’sDeadpool & Wolverinesaw Jackman portray a variant of his originalX-Menfranchise hero, and since he survived the events of the Phase 5 movie, it would make sense for him to reappear inDoomsday. This is especially true if the universe revisited inDoomsdayis in fact Earth-10005, which is where this Wolverine variant ended up.
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Hugh Jackman & Henry Cavill
Hugh Jackman put himself on the map as the iconic clawed mutant in Fox’sX-Menfranchise, and he helped Wolverine to become a main character and the focus of a spinoff trilogy, whereasother X-Men members were neglected. Marvel Studios will surely try and avoid these mistakes, butthere’s no escaping the fact that Jackman’s Wolverine is one of the most popular and profitable comic book movie characters ever, so it would be a shame to omit him fromAvengers:Doomsday. It seems very likely that Hugh Jackman will be confirmed to return in Phase 6 at a later date.
9Ryan Reynolds as Wade Wilson’s Deadpool
Ryan Reynolds Last Appeared As Deadpool In 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine
Similarly,Ryan Reynolds’ omission fromAvengers: Doomsday’scast announcementwas also surprising. Reynolds’Deadpoolduology became perhaps the most successful chapter of Fox’sX-Menfranchise, which allowed him to become the first character from this franchise to officially crossover into the MCU proper.Deadpool & Wolverinemight have ended with Wade Wilson back on Earth-10005, but there seems to be no doubt thatAvengers: Doomsdaywill bring the Merc with a Mouth back to the MCU, where he’ll interact with other, pre-established heroes.
Deadpool’s Complete X-Men & MCU Timeline Explained
Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool joins the MCU in Deadpool & Wolverine, but his previous adventures in Fox’s X-Men franchise will still be considered canon.
Deadpool was always kept separate from the mainstream stories of the X-Men in Fox’s franchise, so it might be the case that Marvel Studios does the same for Deadpool in the MCU proper. However, ifAvengers: Doomsdayis set to mark the destruction of Earth-10005, Deadpool must be featured to be brought officially to the MCU’s Earth-616.This could see Ryan Reynolds' wise-cracking antihero come face-to-face with some of the MCU’s most iconic heroes, including members of the X-Men who routinely ignored him, opening doors for some very entertaining moments.
8Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe’s Storm
Halle Berry Last Appeared As Storm In 2014’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past
It was a shame to see only one returning female actor confirmed to be coming back from Fox’sX-Menfranchise, especially since some of the most powerful and fan-favorite heroes were omitted. It will be fantastic to seeRebecca Romijn’s Mystiqueback in action, but we still hope others are confirmed, including Halle Berry, who appeared as Storm in four feature films before being replaced by Alexandra Shipp.Berry’s Storm never quite captured what makes the Marvel Comics hero so formidable, so it would be great to see Marvel Studios rectify these mistakes.
A variant of Storm recently appeared in Marvel Animation’sWhat If…?season 3 as a version of the Goddess of Thunder.
Most notably, Storm is depicted as a goddess-like character in Marvel Comics, but Halle Berry’s Ororo Munroe was seldom more than an obedient soldier to Professor X.Berry deserves the chance to finally depict Storm as one of Marvel’s most powerful heroes. It would be fantastic for her to team up with the likes of Thor and the Sentry inAvengers: Doomsday, raising the power status of the MCU significantly, and perfectly setting the stage for a new version of Storm to debut in theMCU’s upcomingX-Menrebootor beyond.
7Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake’s Iceman
Shawn Ashmore Last Appeared As Iceman In 2014’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past
Bobby Drake’s Iceman was a key part of the originalX-Mentrilogy, but 20th Century Fox only scratched the surface of his true potential. In Marvel Comics,Iceman was a founding member of the X-Menand one of the Marvel Universe’s most notable and powerful mutant characters, which also made him incredible representation for the LGBTQ+ community.It’s a shame that Fox didn’t really explore Bobby Drake beyond being Rogue’s love interest, but Shawn Ashmore’s return inAvengers: Doomsdaycan give him the justice he deserves.
Shawn Ashmore has continued to appear in superhero media following his last appearance asIceman in 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Past. Most recently, he popped up inThe Boysseason 1 as Lamplighter, andhe could bring some of this seasoned and hardened energy to Iceman inAvengers: Doomsdayif he is confirmed to return. Iceman was a core member of the X-Men the last time we saw them on-screen, so it would make sense for him to return alongside his teammates, and it would be confusing if he didn’t.
6Anna Paquin as Marie D’Ancanto’s Rogue
Anna Paquin Last Appeared As Rogue In 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand
Rogue’s return to the MCU might be one of the most important, as 20th Century Fox introduced a version of the legendary villain-turned-hero that was not at all comic-accurate. Many want to see amore faithful version of Rogue appear in the MCU, and while this might be better left until a new actor assumes the role in Marvel Studios' upcomingX-Menstorylines, Anna Paquin could also be brought back to get this opportunity.Paquin returned in an alternate cut ofX-Men: Days of Future Pastas an older and wiser Rogue, but her sequences were ultimately cut.
Everything X-Men: Days of Future Past’s Rogue Cut Changes
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While Anna Paquin’s version ofRogue wasn’t always a fan-favorite characterin Fox’sX-Menfranchise, it’s only right that she gets a chance to bid farewell and gets paid homage to in the MCU.Avengers: Doomsdaypresents the perfect way for this to happen, especially since many members of the classic X-Men team have already been confirmed.Rogue’s return, perhaps alongside Iceman, could also provide some much-needed closure for their relationship, either confirming that they lived happily ever after, or bringing an end to it once and for all.
5Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff’s Quicksilver
Evan Peters Last Appeared As Quicksilver In 2019’s Dark Phoenix
Evan Peters' return inWandaVisionspurred theories that the MCU and Fox’sX-Menfranchise were being combined, but he turned out to be portraying Westview resident Ralph Bohner instead. Aaron Taylor-Johnson is still the official Quicksilver of the MCU, despite his death inAvengers: Age of Ultron, but revisiting Earth-10005 presents the opportunity for Peters' Quicksilver, Peter Maximoff, to return, too.Evan Peters' Quicksilver contributed to some of theX-Menfranchise’s most memorable moments, so it would be great to see one of these repeated inAvengers: Doomsday.
Ralph Bohner fell under the control of Agatha Harkness inWandaVision, so masqueraded as Quicksilver.Agatha All Alongrevealed this has had a lasting impact on Ralph Bohner’s mental state.
Following recent speculation,Avengers: Doomsdaycould even feature the meeting of Evan Peters andAaron Taylor-Johnson’s Quicksilvervariants. This would be an incredible turn of events that could also establish the presence of the Scarlet Witch on Earth-10005.Quicksilver’s death inAvengers: Age of Ultronis still one of the MCU’s most controversial moments, so Marvel may be inclined to somehow reverse it, and bringing one or two versions of Pietro Maximoff back to the MCU is the perfect way to make this happen.
4Famke Janssen as Jean Grey
Famke Janssen Last Appeared As Jean Grey In 2014’s X-Men: Days Of Future Past
Recent speculation has suggested thatStranger ThingsstarSadie Sink could be playing a new version of Jean Greyin the MCU, making her debut in 2026’sSpider-Man: Brand New Day. While this could come to fruition, and would be an inspired casting choice for the iconic founding X-Men member, it would also be great for Famke Janssen to reprise her role.Janssen’s version of Jean Grey didn’t really get the chance to show off her full range of abilities, and when she did inX-Men: The Last Stand, it was disappointing, so she deserves redemption.
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Famke Janssen’s Jean Greywas killed by Wolverine at the end of 2006’sThe Last Stand, but the time-twisting events ofX-Men: Days of Future Pastallowed her to come back to life. IfAvengers: Doomsdaypicks up afterDays of Future Past’sending, it would make sense for Janssen to return alongside Patrick Stewart and James Marsden.It would be even better if this return completely ignored the boring love-triangle storyline between Jean, Cyclops and Wolverine, and just had all three showing off their incredible gifts and becoming more substantive characters.
3Aaron Stanford as John Allerdyce’s Pyro
Aaron Stanford Last Appeared As Pyro In 2024’s Deadpool & Wolverine
At first glance, Pyro might seem like an unusual choice for Marvel Studios to bring back inAvengers: Doomsday, as he ended his original trilogy career as a villainous member of Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants. However, afterAaron Stanford reprised the role in 2024’sDeadpool & Wolverineand went toe-to-toe with Deadpool, Wolverine, Cassandra Nova and even Chris Evans' Johnny Storm, it would be great to see him come back.Marvel Studios showed Pyro some love inDeadpool & Wolverine, and proved just how capable and powerful he can truly be.
Johnny Storm vs X-Men Villain Pyro: Who Wins In The Comics?
Marvel’s most famous fire manipulators have fought in the comics, but a detailed assessment of their powers reveals who the victor would really be.
Given his recent stint inDeadpool & Wolverine,it’s likely that Aaron Stanford would jump at the chance to suit up as Pyro again, andAvengers: Doomsdayis his next best opportunity. Whether this is as a hero or villain is uncertain, though it’s possible all the mutants of Earth-10005 could band together to try and stop an incursion event ifAvengers: Doomsdayfollows the storyline of Marvel Comics’Secret Warsand its lead-up from 2015. WithJoseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm set to appear inDoomsday, this could also present the opportunity for another Human Torch and Pyro showdown.
2James McAvoy as Charles Xavier’s Professor X
James McAvoy Last Appeared As Professor X In 2019’s Dark Phoenix
Patrick Stewart’s version of Charles Xavier has already been confirmed to appear inAvengers: Doomsday, but that doesn’t mean thatJames McAvoy’s iteration of Professor Xcan’t also join his variant in the MCU. WhenMcAvoy took over from Stewart as Professor X in 2011’sX-Men: First Class, there was trepidation about Stewart being replaced. However, McAvoy more than proved his salt, delivering dramatic, emotional, intense, funny and poignant performances as Xavier in four feature films, as well as a funny cameo inDeadpool 2.
James McAvoy has routinely suggested that it must be someone else’s time to play Professor X. Even so, Patrick Stewart’s return for one last ride may convince him otherwise.
James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart previously simultaneously played Charles Xavier’s Professor X in 2014’sX-Men: Days of Future Past, so it’s possible this could be repeated inAvengers: Doomsday. With the Russo brothers' upcoming crossover movie expected to explore many different realities and possible timelines, it would be unusual if more than one variant of any particular character didn’t appear. Since Marvel already has two stellar Professor X actors at its disposal, it would be great to see bothPatrick Stewart and James McAvoyappear inDoomsday.
1Michael Fassbender as Erik Lensherr’s Magneto
Michael Fassbender Last Appeared As Magneto In 2019’s Dark Phoenix
If James McAvoy reprises his role of Professor X, then Michael Fassbender should also be brought back as therevised iteration of Erik Lehnsherr’s Magneto. Ian McKellen has been announced to be returning inAvengers: Doomsday, but it could be argued that Fassbender delivered an even stronger performance as Lehnsherr in his four feature film appearances.Fassbender gave Magneto real emotion and very human traits that stopped him from being a generic antagonist and transformed him into a much more comic-accurate versionof the Master of Magnetism.
Marvel Already Has Its Perfect Magneto Casting & He’s Just Opened The Door For His MCU Return
Michael Fassbender has recently suggested he’d be open to returning as Magneto, and he would be perfect as the MCU’s official Master of Magnetism.
While James McAvoy seems to have suggested that he may not be open to reprising the role of Professor X, Michael Fassbender has recently revealed that he would be open to returning as Magneto. Some have even voiced the desire for Fassbender to play theMCU’s official version of Magneto, thoughthere have been calls for the Master of Magnetism to finally be played by a Jewish actor, which Fassbender is not. Even so, it would be fantastic to see Fassbender return to this iconic role alongside Ian McKellen inAvengers: Doomsday, making the Phase 6 movie even more exciting.
