James Marsden first played Cyclops in 2000's X-Men, when he was 26. Now 52, the Sonic the Hedgehog star reprises the role of Scott Summers in this December's Avengers: Doomsday, where he'll don a comic-accurate blue-and-yellow costume.
We still don't know exactly what to expect from the returning X-Men in the movie, but there have been at least a few hints about them battling the Avengers and Fantastic Four (don't worry, we're sure the inevitable team-up to fight Doctor Doom will follow).
Talking to the New York Post, Marsden admitted to having reservations about returning as a character he last played in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past.
"I was worried that I wasn’t going to be able to do any of this physical stuff, but it all worked out great. I still fit the costume!" the actor told the site, adding that it was "great to see my old friends again, and to reunite with Patrick [Steart] and Ian [McKellen] and Rebecca [Romijn]."
"For the longest time, I didn’t think it was going to happen," Marsden continued. "I just thought, 'Okay, well, that’s kind of done. They don’t want the fifty-year-old version of me.'" However, something that reassured him on set was seeing the 86-year-old McKellen "pushing his stunt double aside going, 'Let me try!'"
In terms of plans for Cyclops in Avengers: Doomsday, he was tight-lipped, but did say, "It’s going to be a lot of fun seeing all these worlds come together."
Magneto getting in on the action isn't hugely surprising. In January, McKellen revealed that the Master of Magnetism destroys New Jersey. It was a shocking revelation, and one that would surely put even a living legend on Kevin Feige's bad side.
It seems like a significant spoiler, regardless, but during a later interview with Stephen Colbert, the actor doubled down on it. "Now, I don't always understand the story of these movies that I'm in," McKellen shared. "But in this one, I don't think I'm spoiling anything by saying that Magneto destroys New Jersey."
"I'm sorry about that, New Jersey. So, I'm standing up pretending to do that, and the wind is blowing in my hair, and I'm putting on a fierce look, and I'm trying to be magnetic," he continued. "The director on the loudspeaker says, 'Ian, look more furious.' He then said, 'Shout something.' I said, 'What do I shout?' He said, 'Shout the worst thing you could possibly think of.' So I said, 'Mar-a-Lago!'"
You can get a glimpse at the MCU debuts of Cyclops and Magneto by reliving perhaps Avengers: Doomsday's best teaser trailer in the player below.
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Evans, Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Mabel Cadena, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, Lewis Pullman, and India Rose Hemsworth all make their Avengers franchise debuts.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum. The trades have pointed to Ryan Reynolds and Hayley Atwell also appearing in Avengers: Doomsday.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron has also been enlisted to help.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.