Before cinematic universes were commonplace the X-Men movies were in theaters. The franchise, which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription, ended with Dark Phoenix and Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. But a number of the stars of that franchise are reprising their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and now OG Jean Grey Famke Janssen has responded to that news.
What we know about Avengers: Doomsday is very limited, but moviegoers are hyped about the scale of The Russo Brothers’ movie. The internet exploded when Doomsday‘s cast announcement included a number of X-Men stars including James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and more. While speaking with ScreenRant, Janssen was asked the MCU giving love to the X-Men franchise, offering:
Yeah, to be honest with you, I don’t really know the storyline, so I’m not sure. 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.
Well, that was honest. Despite her long tenure as Jean Grey, it sounds like Janssen doesn’t feel a ton of ownership over the comic book genre or the X-Men movies. But just like fans, she’s excited to see her coworkers back on the big screen and playing their signature mutant roles. What’s more, it sounds like she’s got no idea what is coming. Same, girl.
Janssen’s comments might be surprising to some fans, but I think they make a great deal of sense. Her last starring role as Jean was in 2013’s The Wolverine, and since then she’s only gotten a quick cameo or two. Once more, Sophie Turner took over as this role for X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix. So I think the Taken actress’ POV seems both logical and healthy.
Despite Famke Janssen’s acclaimed tenure as Jean Grey, she wasn’t included with the list of returning X-Men actors who will be reprising their roles in Avengers: Doomsday. Instead that honor goes to James Marsden’s Cyclops, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, and Kelsey Grammer’s Beast. They’ll also be joined by Channing Tatum as Gambit, who made his debut in Deadpool & Wolverine.
The public has no idea how the X-Men will factor into the multiversal story of Doomsday. But they’ll seemingly be colliding with other hero teams, including the Avengers, New Avengers, and Fantastic Four. Fans think the X-Men’s introduction might be tied to The Marvels‘ credits scene, which featured Beast.
All will be revealed when Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18th of next year as part of the 2026 movie release list. While Janssen isn’t expected to appear as Jean, there are some longtime fans who will likely cross their fingers she gets a cameo. Hey, we can dream.