Doomsday’ Shouldn’t Include the Fox X-Men Cast

In the furthest reaches of the Internet, among realms where comic book nerds reign supreme, there is a massive buzz around the recently released list of X-Men actors appearing in Avengers: Doomsday. While we’re still quite a while away from that film being released, one has to remember who we’re dealing with here. These are the realms of the Internet where the digital air is thick with debate about everything from whether Batman could defeat the entire Justice League if he were given enough prep time or if Squirrel Girl actually is more powerful than Thanos.

It’s exactly these kinds of passionate and spirited exchanges that make superhero fandom so amazing. Most people are buzzing about this news because Fox’s original X-Men characters are slated to appear in the film. It’s a major development. For one, fans have been beside themselves with excitement about the prospect of finally seeing the X-Men in the MCU. The fact that we will now see many of the original cast members among existing MCU favorites makes it all even more appealing.

However, not everyone feels this way. In fact, for some, it’s kind of a bummer! It’s very much a dissenting opinion at present, but one that needs to be heard, too. Here’s an argument for why Fox’s X-Men should not be in the MCU.

It’s Not Nostalgia Anymore, It’s Over-Exposure

The original cast’s run has certainly been impressive and, over the last 25 years, has given X-Men fans a lifetime of cinematic memories. However, we’ve also watched them all age in those 25 years and had to sit through some painfully bad moments. We’ve also reached the heights of what we could hope to get out of these characters without needing excessive CGI or stunt doubles to help them make it through intense action scenes without seeming like shadows of their younger selves.

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Also, weren’t we all moved recently, to literal tears in many cases, as we watched Deadpool & Wolverine provide a fantastic supposed send-off for the Fox X-Men universe? After all, it gave us some tremendous cameos, like Tyler Mane’s Sabretooth and Dafne Keen’s X23, while also providing closure for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. The overarching premise of that film was to clear a path for Deadpool to join the MCU. It was also meant to simultaneously kill off the old Fox franchise so we could build it anew in the MCU with fresh cast members, wasn’t it?

Do We Want To See Our Favorite X-Men Characters Devolve Into Caricatures?

Instead, now we learn that the likes of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto are among the many names who will be appearing in Doomsday. Every X-Men fan has nothing but love for these two. Both are unbelievably good actors, and it’s been a true privilege for X-Men fans to see them play the two iconic mutant frenemies. However, what’s also true is that Stewart’s now 84 and McKellen is 85. Yes, both are still brilliant enough to have more screen presence than most stars in their 20s can hope to muster. However, that doesn’t mean fans want to keep seeing them playing those characters. It seems Deadpool was right when he cracked a joke about Hugh Jackman being forced to do precisely this by Disney.

That comment doesn’t seem to have aged well if we’re still going to be seeing these characters when the actors are literally both touching 90. On the other hand, it isn’t just that the original cast are all aging and incapable of playing their characters in their prime. Doomsday will also be using Channing Tatum’s Gambit again.

Gambit Deserves To Be Done Right This Time

It was certainly a fantastic gesture that Ryan Reynolds arranged for Tatum to have his dream of playing Gambit. As instantly iconic as that appearance was, do we really want him to continue as the character? He looked the part and did a great job as Gambit, but he was also depicted hilariously and, ultimately, became a meme for this. Is that what we want for Gambit, one of X-Men fans’ most beloved characters — the same character we never saw in the original films?

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Fox missed the boat on the character the first time around. 25 years ago, there were options like Olivier Martinez in his prime who could have nailed the role, but Fox never capitalized. This time, we don’t just want to see Gambit; we want him done right and played by a serious actor in a serious way.

Nostalgia Is a Powerful Drug, Especially for X-Men Fans

For X-Men fans around the globe, Deadpool & Wolverine provided a final love letter to the Fox era. By doing so, it paid fitting homage to the stars and reminded us all that there was so much to look back on and love. However, given all the nostalgia, it’s also caused many to forget that plenty was wrong with the franchise.

Who could forget what a travesty Anna Paquin’s Rogue was compared to what Rogue fans actually wanted to see? We never saw their iconic costumes, Gambit was essentially left out entirely, Wolverine never actually drew blood or wore the cowl, and Apocalypse was just Oscar Isaac with teal paint. All the nostalgia glossed over the fact that most X-Men fans want to see their favorite characters in full MCU glory, with cool costumes and great action sequences that show off the full extent of their powers and what a spectacle they can be on-screen.

For any of this to happen, though, the original Fox franchise needs to die, and a new one needs to emerge from the ashes. There’s no doubt that this will happen too. However, right now, we don’t know how much of the old cast we’ll have to stick with before the new era can begin in earnest. Avengers: Doomsday is heading to theaters on May 1, 2026.