It’s hard to think of another 2026 release that has sparked the gobsmackingly large number of fan theories and assumptions that the upcoming Marvel movie Avengers: Doomsday has. From its earliest days with Kang in the mix to the heavily revamped approach that brought the Russo brothers back into the fold, the MCU’s next mega-blockbuster will no doubt keep fans guessing until it’s officially out. Assuming Kevin Feige doesn’t spoil the whole shebang, that is.
Okay, so that’s just farcical, since Kevin Feige is generally Marvel’s biggest enforcer of keeping franchise secrets intact. But he’s not entirely immune to hyping up future projects, including what’ll likely be the biggest release of 2026. When the studio head honcho spoke with Fandango (as seen in this X clip), his own fandom crept through his comments while speaking to the X-Men’s official MCU introduction as a full group. As he put it:
I think, for the fans, the notion of having the Avengers and X-Men together for the first time within our cinematic universe is incredibly exciting. It’s been something that’s been a long time coming. For me, personally, my career started in 1998 on that first X-Men film. No spoilers, but there might be some sets that you recognize from those original films. And being on those sets 26 years later with my now-12-year-old son was pretty emotional.
The biggest takeaway from this comment is obviously the implication that Anthony and Joe Russo had the crew rebuild multiple sets (or parts of them) from Bryan Singer’s 2000 X-Men film, as a way of visually bridging the gap between Fox’s mutant saga and the MCU.To be fair, many fans probably already gathered that to be true just from the Professor X and Magneto Doomsday teaser, with interiors from his lavish mansion on display.
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But what about other familiar locations? Feige implied Avengers: Doomsday will feature multiple scenes taking place within sets central to X-Men films even beyond that first entry. (Here’s hoping everyone just forgot The Last Stand existed during that part of the process.) I’m guessing we’ll see a similar take on Cerebro, and it would presumably make sense for the Russos to rebuild the Alkali Lake complex where the Weapons X experiments took place. (Assuming the impending X-Men standalone feature from Jake Schreier also shares some of those previously set up details.)
For a comparison, Feige referenced Deadpool and Wolverine finally putting Hugh Jackman in the yellow costume that fans clamored for years for, which Singer & Co. wanted to avoid entirely for being too cartoonish. As he put it:
I had a taste of it on Deadpool & Wolverine and getting to work with Hugh [Jackman] again and putting him in a comic-accurate costume. That’s another thing that is so exciting, bringing them into our world is getting to frankly, do justice to that comic style and seeing how excited Hugh was on Deadpool & Wolverine, how excited all of the actors, and in particular, Jimmy Marsden (who plays) Cyclops being in a comic-accurate costume. And the way these guys direct the action with his powers is a sight to behold.
For all the acclaim and fan-love aimed at Fox’s X-Men movies, fans’ biggest complaints often circled around the lack of comic-specific costumes in favor of all things black and leathery. He made the excellent note that the look of James Marsden‘s Cyclops is aligned with the source material, and it sounds like fans will finally get to see the mutant squad’s traditional looks in live action for the first time. Even though I’m perfectly fine with adaptations taking artistic license with details like costuming, hairstyles and the like, I cannot WAIT to see how the X-Men look in Avengers: Doomsday and beyond.
Especially Alan Cumming‘s Nightcrawler and Jim Lee’s Rogue costume. (Not that Rogue or actress Anna Paquin have been confirmed to appear in Doomsday, but I’m still hopeful.)
Despite being namechecked earlier, fans probably shouldn’t expect to see Deadpool in Avengers: Doomsday, but I’m as hopeful as anyone that Hugh Jackman is bringing his A-game once more as Wolverine, where his Aussie-Canadian accent can sit prettily alongside Channing Tatum‘s Alabama-Cajun accent as Gambit.
Find out which familiar X-Men sets and costumes will be on display when Avengers: Doomsday finally hits theaters on December 18, 2026.
