After 20 Years, The MCU Finally Redeemed One Of The Most Underrated X-Men Movie Heroes

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Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of Wolverine is beloved by Marvel fans, but the Marvel Cinematic Universe is now set to give another deserving X-Men hero the spotlight, two decades after he was unfairly pushed aside. The upcoming film, Avengers: Doomsday, scheduled for release in late 2026, will bring together a large cast of characters, including X-Men from the previous Fox Marvel movies.

The Avengers will reunite in the 2026 film Avengers: Doomsday, and they won’t be alone. Joining them will be the Fantastic Four from another universe (Earth-828), as well as familiar X-Men characters played by the actors who originally portrayed them in the Fox movies that started in 2000.

The upcoming X-Men movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe will reportedly feature James Marsden reprising his role as Cyclops, and a recent teaser from Avengers: Doomsday suggests his character will finally have a chance to redeem himself.

Cyclops Was Never Given His Due In Fox’s X-Men Movies

As a big X-Men fan, I always felt a little frustrated with how they treated Cyclops, played by James Marsden in the Fox movies. They set him up as the serious, dependable leader, but then never really let him lead the story, you know? It felt like they didn’t fully trust Scott Summers to be the central figure, which was a shame.

The films focused mainly on Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, making him the central character alongside Jean Grey and Professor X. This meant characters like Scott and Storm, played by Halle Berry, didn’t get much opportunity to develop as fully realized individuals.

The X-Men films really did Cyclops a disservice in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, killing off his character quickly and without much fanfare—he was simply killed by Jean Grey’s Phoenix early in the movie.

While James Marsden briefly appeared at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past to show his character survived the timeline changes, it’s obvious that his Cyclops had a lot of untapped potential within Fox’s X-Men movies.

While Tye Sheridan’s younger Cyclops had more screen time in the newer X-Men films, many viewers still remember Scott Marsden as the definitive on-screen leader of the X-Men.

The Avengers: Doomsday X-Men Trailer Finally Redeems Cyclops

The latest trailer for Avengers: Doomsday hints that Cyclops will get the recognition he deserves in the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film.

The teaser ends with Scott Summers, dressed in a comic-book-accurate blue and yellow X-Men suit and using his powerful optic blasts, establishing him as a major force. This suggests he may finally take center stage as the hero he deserves to be, instead of playing a secondary role like in previous X-Men films.

What really got to me in the trailer was seeing Cyclops. He seems to be going through so much – real pain, maybe even grief. It looks like the Sentinels, those mutant-hunting machines, are looming over what’s left of Xavier’s School, which is just heartbreaking. It definitely feels like James Marsden’s Cyclops will be a major player, a central hero, in the big team-up we’re going to see in ‘Doomsday’. I can’t wait to see what his story will be!

After two decades, it seems Marvel is planning to give Cyclops the respect he deserves, finally showcasing his potential as a top-tier X-Men hero and leader – something Fox never fully did.

Avengers: Doomsday is set to release in theaters on December 18th, 2026 from Marvel Studios.

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2026-01-04 03:08