James Marsden makes a fiery return as the comic book character Cyclops in the latest preview for Avengers: Doomsday ahead of the movie’s December theatrical release.
As the X-Men return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the teaser, which dropped on Tuesday, mostly features Patrick Stewart as Professor X and Ian McKellen as Magneto in a somber dialogue about death. “The question is: who would you be when you close your eyes?” Professor X questions at one point in the teaser.
That’s quickly followed by the character Scott Summers, also known as goggle X-Man Cyclops, suiting up for the upcoming film from directors Joe and Anthony Russo after earlier trailers revealed returns for God of Thunder Thor (Chris Hemsworth) and Chris Evans as Steve Rogers.
The superheroes — everyone from the original X-Men to the Fantastic Four — will face off against Doctor Doom, played by Marvel patriarch Robert Downey Jr. in one of two Avengers films to roll out later this year.
Marsden appeared as the Marvel character in X-Men (2000), X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), though his character died in the latter film. Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released in theaters on Dec. 18.
Marsden, over the summer, spoke about returning to the Marvel universe and addressed his character’s fate.
“I’m getting a little long in the tooth to put on the superhero costume,” he said, laughing, in an interview with Vanity Fair. “I was excited because you’re a part of something gigantic. 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.”
That will be preceded by the theatrical rerelease on Sept. 25 of Avengers: Endgame. Endgame was part of an epic story involving the villain Thanos and the culmination of Marvel’s phase three of its movie release slate.
