Marvel head Kevin Feige and his directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, speak with EW at CinemaCon.

Marvel saw X-Men’s Avengers: Doomsday return as ‘opportunity to pit multiple universes against each other’ (exclusive)

Marvel head Kevin Feige and his directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, speak with EW at CinemaCon.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in Vanity Fair, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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April 17, 2026 1:25 p.m. ET

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James Marsden as Cyclops in 'Avengers: Doomsday'. Credit:

- Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige talks about the X-Men as "an amazing opportunity to pit multiple universes against each other" in *Avengers: Doomsday*.

- Feige and his directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, teased more about the event-film's plot with ** at CinemaCon in Las Vegas.

- The trio pushed back slightly on Ian McKellen's recent leak about the role his character, Magneto, plays in the story.

Following a splashy *Avengers: Doomsday* reveal at CinemaCon in Las Vegas on Thursday, Marvel shared new information on the event-film's story. The company teased that "heroes from three distinct universes will be set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered."

Backstage at the convention for movie theater owners, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige, accompanied by *Doomsday* directors Joe and Anthony Russo, emphasized how the original X-Men actors became a big part of that multiversal collision.

"We're not talking too much about story, but I think people know that the story of *Doomsday* is inspired by a very famous comic run in which universes are colliding and earths encounter one another and different timelines encounter one another," Feige tells **. "And in movie speak, what that allows us to do is get different casts from different franchises."

He pointed to his early career at 20th Century Fox, which released 2000's *X-Men* and the subsequent superhero movies it spawned. That's when Feige first met the likes of Hugh Jackman, James Marsden, Patrick Stewart, and the like.

"I was a part of the first couple many, many, many, many, many years ago," he says. "Now that they're back home, we thought: *We have to utilize them*. *Deadpool & Wolverine* was our first opportunity to do that and touch upon it, and it just felt like an amazing opportunity to pit multiple universes against each other, but you care about all of them."

The cast of 'X2: X-Men United'.

20th Century Fox

He noted the "generations of people" who care about the original cast of X-Men, the original Avengers, the new Avengers, and the Fantastic Four. "Bringing them all together is what we have tasked the brothers with doing for us," he says.

*Avengers: Doomsday* will pick up where *Avengers: Endgame* left off, Feige said earlier on the CinemaCon stage. Robert Downey Jr. makes his MCU return, this time as Victor von Doom, a mega villain from Marvel comics. So far, the confirmed X-Men-related cast members include Stewart as Professor Charles Xavier, Marsden as Cyclops, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, Kelsey Grammer as Beast, and Channing Tatum as Gambit. With the exception of Tatum, they all return to the roles they originated in that early Fox era of X-Men movies.

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McKellen recently teased that Magneto, who maintains power over magnetism, leveled New Jersey in the context of *Avengers: Doomsday*. When asked to comment on that, Feige turned to his filmmakers to ask, "Does he destroy New Jersey in the movie?"

"I think he might've misspoke... I don't think he destroys New Jersey," Joe Russo replies.

"There's a New Jersey presence!" Feige adds.

Ian McKellen as Magneto in 'Avengers: Doomsday'.

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Downey and Chris Evans, who returns as Steve Rogers in *Doomsday*, joined Feige and the Russos at CinemaCon to promote the movie. Together they unveiled a new trailer, which was screened in the room only.

Also confirmed for reprisals are Chris Hemsworth, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tom Hiddleston, Joseph Quinn, Sebastian Stan, David Harbour, Letitia Wright, Lewis Pullman, Danny Ramirez, Winston Duke, Hannah John-Kamen, Alex Livinalli, Mabel Cadena, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, and Kathryn Newton.

Wesley Holloway is a newcomer confirmed to the cast. His character is not currently known.

*Avengers: Doomsday* will premiere in theaters this Dec. 18.

*—With reporting by Gerrad Hall.*

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