Marvel stars pose in 'first look' at upcoming Avengers and X-Men crossover

It's no overstatement to say that Avengers: Doomsday is one of the most heavily-anticipated movies on the Hollywood calendar. The Marvel Cinematic Universe will have reached almost 40 movies by that point, but that hasn't stopped the juggernaut franchise from thrilling audiences time after time after time. People can't get enough of the MCU, and it continues to show.

Although the Marvel Studios franchise hit a bit of a stumbling block with some recent lacklustre titles (some of which struggled to match the heights of its glory days at the box office), some course-correcting has resulted in some of the very best titles in recent in memory. And it's all building towards the long-awaited Avengers: Doomsday, which will reunite the franchise's most iconic group of heroes.

Another reason that fans are particularly exicted for this one is that it will see the Avengers and the X-Men cross over for the first time ever. Now, we have an idea of what that could look like as a recently-shared photo features a future Avengers star crossing paths with an X-Men star for the first time.

Simu Liu and James Marsden cross paths in Avengers training photo

We have out first look at an Avengers star crossing paths with an X-Men star. Actor Simu Liu posed for a photo alongside X-Men legend James Marsden as the two were seen training together ahead of their roles in Avengers: Doomsday. Liu reprises his role as Shang-Chi from the MCU, while Marsden returns to the role of Cyclops from the X-Men movies for the first time in two decades. Needless to say, this photo sent the internet into a meltdown.

Is it completely normal for two co-stars to train together for their movie at the same place and at the same time? Absolutely! However, it's also pretty major because this is something of a preview of what is to come in the upcoming MCU movie.

Released next year, Avengers: Doomsday will bring the MCU's Avengers back together, while also introducing a host of original X-Men stars - meaning that the two most iconic Marvel Comics super-teams to ever grace the silver screen will cross paths in the movies for the first time ever. To call is a crossover simply wouldn't do it justice; it's about to be a game-changer.

Liu made his MCU debut in 2021's Shang-Chi And The Legend Of The Ten Rings, which has since gone on to be regarded as one of the Multiverse Saga's greatest titles (and deservedly so!). His next appearance in the franchise will be in Avengers: Doomsday when Shang-Chi himself will seemingly become a member of the New Avengers, potentially answering some of the questions posed in his movie's post-credits scenes.

Marsden portrayed Cyclops in the first three X-Men movies. Although his performance was well-received, fans often criticized the movies for not giving the character the spotlight he deserved as the team's leader. They were particularly unhappy with how the character (real name Scott Summers) was treated in 2005's X-Men: The Last Stand. It was understandable how they reacted, too, and now Marvel Studios gets the chance to right that wrong by giving the hero some long-overdue spotlight with his X-Men by his side.

How the X-Men will feature in the movie remains to be seen, but theories have pointed to them either fighting the Avengers or teaming up with them. Knowing Marvel and knowing the Multiverse Saga, it could very well be both of those. And there is no doubt about it: The photo of Simu Liu and James Marsden is only a first look of the crossovers to come. We can't wait.

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