Avengers: Doomsday is set to feature an X-Men team comprised of Professor X, Magneto, Beast, Cyclops, Gambit, Mystique, and Nightcrawler.
It's a decent lineup, albeit one that's missing some heavy-hitters from the 20th Century Fox franchise. Wolverine, Storm, Rogue, Iceman, and Jean Grey immediately spring to mind, and the hope is that they'll all still appear (especially with the mutant team supposedly set to take on the combined might of the Avengers and Fantastic Four).
We don't know if Marvel Studios has a second casting announcement planned or whether characters like these are being saved as surprises for fans. However, if they don't appear, then many fans will be disappointed.
Screen Rant recently spoke with Famke Janssen and asked about her absence from Avengers: Doomsday as the powerful X-Man.
"Yeah, to be honest with you, I don’t really know the storyline, so I’m not sure," she said. "It’s not my world, it’s never been my world, really, that whole comic book world. I should know by now, I’ve been in it long enough. But I’m really excited to see when it comes out. Just like everyone else, I’ll find out what those storylines are and how it all ended up."
Is she playing coy or genuinely in the dark? It's no secret that Marvel Studios is planning reshoots for Avengers: Doomsday, with the expectation being that those will add several previously unannounced characters.
After Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, the Russo Brothers are pros at shooting actors and making it look like they were in the same scene, even when that wasn't the case. Many of Benedict Cumberbatch's scenes, for example, were done with a stand-in because of scheduling issues.
Janssen later reflected on her X-Men franchise experience, adding that "those were great films to be part of, and they’ve done so many good things for my career." She continued, "It’s just amazing that over all these years, I’ve had these franchises, like the X-Men, or Taken for three films, or the Netflix series, Hemlock Grove, for three seasons, or Amsterdam Empire and a Bond film."
"It’s [amazing] being part of these, but then having the variety constantly works best for me. I’m really not good at repeating anything."
The Russo Brothers direct the movie 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 is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, 2026, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.