James Marsden has described playing Cyclops in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday as a “homecoming to a role that really put me on the map.”
The Paradise star, 51, first played the superhero and his alter-ego Scott Summers in Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000.
He returned to the role in sequels X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Despite the fact that the character was killed off in the latter movie, he returned to play a cameo role in 2014’s time-traveling X-Men: Days of Future Past.
He will play Cyclops once again in the upcoming Marvel epic, alongside a host of other X-Men stars, including Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique).
Speaking to Vanity Fair, Marsden joked that he’s “getting a little long in the tooth to put on the superhero costume.”
He continued: “I was excited because you’re a part of something gigantic, and I’ve spent 20 years listening to people say, ‘When are you coming back? When are you coming back? Are you coming back?’ I’m dead. Well, maybe not.
“I’m going to have a tough time struggling to get into costume if they waited a couple more years. So it’s been a blast. It really has. It’s been a nice little homecoming to a role that really put me on the map.
“It was the first real event project that I was ever a part of, and a very beloved character, this icon from the comics. And so to step back into that role was pretty special.”
Last month, fans expressed concern after Romijn confirmed that Avengers: Doomsday, despite filming for several months, does not have a finished script.
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The film is expected to feature characters from films including The Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Thunderbolts, and Black Panther teaming up with the X-Men to battle super-villain Doctor Doom.
Speaking at the San Diego Comic Con, Romijn was asked whether she had finished filming Doomsday, and replied that she wasn’t sure.
“The script hasn’t – they haven’t finished writing it,” she said. “It’s been very, very fun, and we don’t know yet. They keep everything very close to the vest themselves in an effort to keep everything under wraps.”
Marvel announced in May that Doomsday has been delayed from its originally announced release date of May 1, 2026, to December 18, 2026.
In 2024, it was announced that Doctor Doom will be played in the movie – and its 2027 follow-up Avengers: Secret Wars – by Robert Downey Jr, who previously portrayed Iron Man in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
