Doomsday Cast Reveal, I Understand Why No Original X-Men Were In Deadpool & Wolverine

Although Deadpool & Wolverine was crammed with cameos of mutants from Fox’s X-Men franchise, none of the original X-Men (save for the eponymous Wolverine) were involved in the MCU movie, and after the Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal, I think I now know why. Avengers: Doomsday was recently hyped up by Marvel’s surprise stream, which announced many of Avengers: Doomsday‘s main cast. While much of the cast was expected, including Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, and the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, fans watching the five-hour live stream were stunned by some of the biggest reveals toward the end.

The reveal that many of Fox’s X-Men and X-Men villains would be returning to Avengers: Doomsday continues a recent trend within the MCU that spotlights mutants. The many Deadpool & Wolverine cameos were a recent prime example of this, as the movie itself was seen as a love letter to the X-Men movies of yesteryear. It’s somewhat surprising, then, that while villains like Pyro, Sabretooth, and Juggernaut were front and center, Deadpool & Wolverine refrained from including their nemeses. Namely, the X-Men themselves. I would wager that Avengers: Doomsday had something to do with that.

Avengers: Doomsday Is Bringing Back A Number Of Original X-Men Stars

One Of Them Hasn’t Reprized His Role For 23 Years

Marvel’s surprise live stream lasted for 5 and a half hours, steadily revealing names in a move that dominated online discourse for the entire day. Aside from rumors, there was no inkling that the X-Men would be joining this long list of names until Kelsey Grammer’s became the twelfth to appear. Given that Grammer was the most recent member of the team to appear in live-action (apart from Wolverine) in the post-credits scene of The Marvels, this began to prove that Marvel intended for Avengers: Doomsday to pay off that credits scene.

Returning X-Men Actor	Character	Last Seen
Kelsey Grammer	Hank McCoy/Beast	The Marvels (2023)
Patrick Stewart	Charles Xavier/Professor X	Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)
Ian McKellen	Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto	X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Alan Cumming	Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler	X2 (2003)
Rebecca Romijn	Raven Darkhölme/Mystique	X-Men: The Last Stand (2006)
James Marsden	Scott Summers/Cyclops	X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
Channing Tatum	Remy LeBeau/Gambit	Deadpool & Wolverine (2024)

He was then joined by a cavalcade of erstwhile co-stars, including Alan Cumming, whose Nightcrawler hasn’t been seen since 2003’s X2. It wasn’t just X-Men team members, either, with Ian McKellan and Rebecca Romijn presumably poised to reprise their roles of Magneto and Mystique, respectively. The list of mutants joining the Avengers: Doomsday cast ended with Channing Tatum, giving rise to the exciting prospect that he’ll be incorporated into the X-Men as Gambit when Avengers: Doomsday is released.

I’m Convinced Marvel Was Saving The OG X-Men For Avengers: Doomsday

Marvel Probably Told The Deadpool & Wolverine Filmmakers To Refrain From Including The OG X-Men

Custom image by Ollie Bradley

Channing Tatum is the only actor whose character appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine. Given this was where he was first introduced, as part of a tonally perfect cameo that addressed his time in development hell, this stands to reason. As for the others, it now makes a lot of sense that the likes of James Marsden’s Cyclops and Patrick Stewart’s Professor X were not involved in a movie as recent as Deadpool & Wolverine to help preserve the surprise of their upcoming involvement in the climax of the Multiverse Saga.

This also explains why Halle Berry never received a call, despite expressing a willingness to cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine.

I think that Marvel may have ruled that Deadpool & Wolverine couldn’t use these characters, even if Ryan Reynolds and co. were keen to. It would have fit the Deadpool & Wolverine narrative, after all, to have Charles Xavier interact with his sister, Cassandra Nova. Instead, he was consigned to a smattering of mentions as part of the movie’s exposition. It would likewise have been compelling to see Worst Wolverine interacting with Cyclops, with his remorse over losing his teammate variant being counterbalanced by their traditional rivalry.

Deadpool in Logan's forest in Deadpool & Wolverine

Every X-Men Character Recast For Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine paid tribute to the history of non-MCU Marvel movies, bringing back several X-Men, but not all the original actors returned.

This also explains why Halle Berry never received a call, despite expressing a willingness to cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine. When asked by ComicBook if there were attempts to get her involved, Berry responded:

No. Blake [Lively] asked me one time, I ran into her at a Marc Jacobs fashion show, and she said, ‘Would you ever be in my husband’s movie as Storm?’ I said, ‘Yeah, if he asked me,’ but he never asked me.

This points to two things. The first is that there was a general appetite for involving more mutants in Deadpool & Wolverine, but outside forces (aka Marvel Studios) put a stop to it. The second is, if this is true, then Halle Berry may soon join the cast for Avengers: Doomsday in a new wave of announcements.

Will More X-Men Actors Be Announced For Avengers: Doomsday?

It Looks Like Marvel Isn’t Done Yet

It certainly looks like it. A recent interaction between Robert Downey Jr. and Marvel Studios teased that there was “Room for more,” as highlighted by CultureCrave in a post on X. The Hollywood Reporter also reports that a new wave of cast announcements is en route. This makes sense, as there are so many gaps in the already stacked cast that would be difficult for Marvel to explain. For instance, while Chris Evans’ absence makes sense as Old Man Rogers is unlikely to participate in super-heroics, the same can’t be said for the still-operating Doctor Strange and Bruce Banner.

Chris Evans stated that he has retired from the MCU, but fans still believe he’ll reprise his role as a Steve Rogers variant in Avengers: Doomsday.

This could also be where the rest of the X-Men are revealed. Halle Berry’s Storm is a glaring absentee from the original Avengers: Doomsday cast announcement, as are Famke Janssen’s Jean Gray and Anna Paquin’s Rogue. Thankfully, rumors suggest that a whopping 50-60 additional actors are due to return to their Marvel movie roles in Avengers: Doomsday, which stands to reason. It also means that Avengers: Doomsday will be incomparably stacked with all-stars, and I can’t wait to see who else will contribute.