We are officially in the year of Avengers: Doomsday. The long-awaited Marvel Studios movie was originally set for a May 2026 release before it was pushed back to December instead. The reason? So that the studio could spend more time perfecting it, ensuring that when it does arrive in movie theaters, it will be an incredibly fulfilling experience for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So far, so good.
Marvel has been releasing one new trailer a week, teasing fans with some of the major characters and / or returns that we can expect to see in the movie. Needless to say, however, that one of them has created the biggest impression we've seen from a movie trailer in some time. And after it leaked online, the studio has officially released it for audiences all over the world to enjoy.
Avengers: Doomsday trailer officially brings back Marvel legends after a decade
Marvel Studios has unveiled multiple Avengers: Doomsday trailers over the past few weeks, attaching them to theatrical release of Avatar: Fire and Ash before eventually releasing them online, but the one that truly broke the internet has been the third one. In it, we return to the iconic X-mansion before we're gifted glimpses of X-Men stars Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, and James Marsters reprising their iconic roles from the classic Fox movie series.
Watch it below:
The clip opens with the quiet hallways of Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters. Then, we see Magneto and Charles playing a game of chess, reflecting on their long-standing friendship. It's clear that the X-Men are in the midst of some dark days, with references to the Sentinels having already destroyed the mansion. Magneto narrates the clip, asking the haunting questions:
"Death comes for us all, that's all I know for sure. The question isn't are you prepared to die? The question is, who would you be when you close your eyes?"
As he takes his friend's arm and they smile at each other, we cut to Cyclops outside the mansion, which is indeed being destroyed by Sentinels. Clad in his iconic yellow and blue uniform, he drops his knees as a Sentinel walks behind him, ripping off his visor and letting a powerful optic blast loose.
The X-Men officially join the MCU
It's a game-changing moment for sure. With the exception of Stewart (who made a brief cameo as an alternate version of Professor Charles Xavier in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), none of these actors have played these roles in a Marvel Studios production before. And therefore, it means that this is the first time we're seeing Magneto, Cyclops, and this version of Charles in an MCU project
The three actors frequently worked together on Fox's X-Men movies, appearing in 2000's X-Men, and 2003 sequel X2: X-Men United as well as 2005 trilogy-closer X-Men: The Last Stand. Stewart and McKellen would also return for sequels and spinoffs, including 2013's The Wolverine and 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past. The former would also appear in 2010's X-Men Origins: Wolverine and 2017's Logan (along with his MCU debut in Doctor Strange 2). Seeing all three reunited in Avengers: Doomsday is going to make for an epic sight!
While Marvel Studios made it clear that some of the cast members from those movies would indeed return for this one (Kelsey Grammer will reprise his role as Beast, Rebecca Romijn will return as Mystique, and Alan Cumming will be back as Nightcrawler), this is expected to serve as something of a farewell to that particular group of X-Men. The franchise's Multiverse Saga has acted as a gateway to allow the MCU to introduce its own variation of the X-Men, and it has paved the way for that by reintroducing the classic X-Men stars for one last hurrah.
One star from that franchise who is expected to stick around, however, is Hugh Jackman - who plays Wolverine. Having made his return to the role in 2024's Deadpool and Wolverine - which now acts as his MCU debut - he is expected to have a major role going forward, including a potential solo movie. As he too got to finally wear the character's iconic comic-accurate suit, fans are holding out hope that he might get to interact with his X-Men costars one more time. If not in Avengers: Doomsday, then perhaps in 2027 sequel Avengers: Secret Wars.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be one of the biggest movies of the year as Marvel Studios works towards making the movie a massive success. If they pull it off, it should restore faith in the franchise, which has been waning somewhat over the past few years due to overexposure. But after a number of well-received offerings in Agatha All Along, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, things are looking up for the MCU once again. Avengers: Doomsday is the next step in that process.
Needless to say, fans are ready to see Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom, who is set to be the big villain that brings it all together across the upcoming duo of Avengers movies. Rumor has it that the next trailer, which is rumored to be released at the Super Bowl, could very well reveal the first footage of him in action. Here's hoping!