The reveal that two surprising actors will be returning inAvengers: Doomsdayhas made us think that Marvel Studios will finally be exploring an iconic X-Men story that 20th Century Fox routinely neglected. Marvel Studios announced 27actors confirmed to be starring inAvengers: Doomsdayin a five-and-a-half-hour-long chair-laying ceremony at the end of March, including several members of the Avengers, the Thunderbolts, the Fantastic Four and even the X-Men. This will bring some unexpected heroes and villains together on-screen, which creates some exciting opportunities for theMCU.
Avengers: Doomsdayhas very quickly become one of the MCU’s most exciting upcoming projects, and the inclusion of manyclassic X-Men actors from 20th Century Fox’s two-decade-long Marvel movie franchisehas contributed to this. While there have been some key omissions,it will be great to see the likes of Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden and more reprise their roles. There are two returning X-Men stars that have us excited about a very different reason, however, as the MCU can explore a story Fox never even touched.
Mystique & Nightcrawler Are Two Of Avengers: Doomsday’s Most Surprising Cast Confirmations
Rebecca Romijn & Alan Cumming Have Been Confirmed To Be Returning
Marvel Studios confirming thatRebecca Romijn and Alan Cumming would be reprising their respective roles of Mystique and Nightcrawlercame as quite a shock. Aside from a very brief cameo inX-Men: First Class, Romijn hasn’t appeared as Mystique since 2006’sX-Men: The Last Stand, which ended with her receiving the temporary “mutant cure.” Cumming’s return is even more surprising, as he only made one appearance as Kurt Wagner’s Nightcrawler back in 2003’sX2: X-Men United. Both were subsequently replaced in Fox’s revisedX-Mentimeline.
Deadpool & Wolverine(2024)
Rebecca Romijn was replaced by Jennifer Lawrence from 2011’sX-Men: First Classonwards, while Kodi Smit-McPhee appeared as a younger iteration of Nightcrawler in 2016’sX-Men: Apocalypseand 2019’sDark Phoenix, with a brief cameo inDeadpool 2. These iterations saw more development and more action, butAvengers: Doomsdaypromises to put the spotlight back on Romijn and Cumming’s classic characters. This will bring them together for the first time in over 20 years, and is the best chance to finally explore a fantastic Marvel Comics story.
I Need The MCU To Explore Mystique & Nightcrawler’s Familial Connection Properly
Mystique Is Nightcrawler’s Father In Marvel Comics
WhileX-Men: Apocalypsemight have teased a connection between Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique and Kodi Smit-McPhee’s Nightcrawler, the pair’s familial relationship was never explicitly explored in Fox’sX-Menfranchise. In Marvel Comics,Nightcrawler is the son of Mystique and her wife, precognitive mutant Destiny, with Mystique having shape-shifted into a male form to become Kurt Wagner’s father. In Fox’s franchise, it was teased that Nightcrawler may have been the son of Mystique and Jason Flemyng’s Azazel, but this was never confirmed.
The MCU’s X-Men Reboot Can Finally Fix The Villain Fox’s Franchise Botched Twice
20th Century Fox’s X-Men franchise failed several powerful mutant characters from Marvel Comics, but one villain could finally get justice in the MCU.
With Mystique andNightcrawler both returning inAvengers: Doomsday, Marvel Studios can finally address the elephant in the room with these two iconic X-Men characters.2024’sX-Men ‘97explored this connection, despite not featuring Mystique, so it would be great to see this repeated in the live-action MCU. Alternatively, it’s possible Marvel might wait to investigate this connection until a new Mystique and Nightcrawler appear in the MCU, butAvengers: Doomsdaycould still begin to tease this relationship, which would add a new layer to their dynamic.
