James Marsden’s Cyclops Returns in Avengers: Doomsday Trailer

Collider reports the third teaser trailer for Avengers: Doomsday reunites Magneto (Ian McKellen) with Charles Xavier (Patrick Stewart) and ends with James Marsden’s Scott Summers — Cyclops — confirming "The X-Men Will Return." The piece argues Cyclops has been one of the most prominent X-Men on the page and in animation but was largely sidelined in the original film trilogy, often reduced to Wolverine’s romantic rival and subject to diminishing moments such as taunts from Wolverine, an NSYNC punchline, and a scene in which Magneto undercuts one of his plans with the line "I thought you lived at a school?" It recounts Cyclops’ abrupt exit in X-Men: The Last Stand when Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix engulfs and kills him, notes Marsden’s later cameo in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Tye Sheridan’s portrayal of a younger Cyclops, and says it was rumored — never confirmed — that Marsden’s absence was tied to joining director Bryan Singer on Superman Returns.

The trailer shows Marsden in comic-accurate attire unleashing an optic blast, which the article says could signal a notable part for Cyclops but cautions that Doomsday’s crowded cast makes a leading-role revival unlikely. It points to Marvel’s occasional interest in boosting underserved characters while warning the film’s scale may leave Marsden’s return as a brief reminder of what might have been.

Key Topics

Culture, Avengers: Doomsday, Cyclops, James Marsden, X-men, Magneto