20th Century StudiosYesterday, millions of people lost their minds and spent hours staring at chairs. This wasn’t some collective mass hysteria like the Dancing Plague of 1518 or that time in 2018 when we all became obsessed with slime, though.
No, this was to celebrate a new superhero movie, specifically the news that Avengers: Doomsday has gone into production. Also, the chairs weren’t some bizarre product tie-in; they were a clever way to announce the 26 members (and counting) of the upcoming Marvel movie.
Marvel has assembled an all-star team of talent to take on Doctor Doom, including MCU alums like Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Florence Pugh, Simu Liu, and more. The Fantastic Four cast – Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach – is also set to get in on the action.
Perhaps most interestingly, however, was the news that a few familiar faces from Fox’s X-Men timeline are returning, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romjin, James Marsden, etc.
To me, my X-Men
It’s quite exciting, especially for those who thought that Deadpool & Wolverine had closed the door on the Fox-iverse for good. Sadly, I’ve got some bad news for you, though. All those beloved characters you can’t wait to return? They’re going to die… or most of them are, at least.
How do I know this? Well, I’ve been burdened with terrible knowledge of both comic books and the filmmaking process, and two things have convinced me that the X-Men won’t have long to enjoy their day in the MCU’s warm limelight.
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The first is a bit boring, so we’ll start with that. Practically, a cast of 26 people just doesn’t work. A cast that large would result in an unfocused story that spreads itself too thin and fails to connect with audiences.
Yes, I know that Avengers: Endgame had a lot of heroes in it, but that was only for the final set piece, and let’s be honest, a lot of Endgame’s cast basically made glorified cameos.
With this in mind, I expect the extended X-Men cast to perform a similar role in Doomsday – they’ll get one big action scene, and that’s about it – which is where the comics knowledge comes in.
Everything dies
Marvel ComicsYou see, when writer Jonathan Hickman was building up to 2015’s Secret Wars, he did a lead-in story called Time Runs Out. This rather depressing tale saw Earth-616 and Earth-1610 quite literally collide as the Multiverse petered out of existence and everything died.
As the two planets drew closer to each other, the heroes of both worlds battled to try to save their dying planets in the only way they knew how: by fighting each other. It was depressing and futile, and it ended in a superhero bloodbath, as both sides took heavy casualties.
Now, I won’t explain exactly how our heroes saved the day (spoiler: they didn’t), but I will say that I expect Doomsday to have a similar sequence in its final act. And sadly, I think Fox’s X-Men Earth has been set up to play the role of Earth-1610 in this tragic tale.
Marvel ComicsI expect then that Doomsday will end with a climactic battle between the X-Men and the Avengers we know and love, during which the majority of Marvel’s Merry mutants (as well as a few of Earth’s greatest heroes) will meet their maker (not that one), and I don’t mean Stan Lee.
I know that sounds like a horrible way to end a film, but killing the Avengers helped make Infinity War and Endgame the biggest Marvel movies ever, so there’s proof this type of tragedy gets bums in seats.
What do you think? Has staring at chairs for four hours driven me mad? Am I insane for expecting the Russo Bros to pull so much from the comics? Well, I guess we’ll find out in 2026 when the Avengers… assemble.
Excited to see what’s next for the MCU? Then read our guide, breaking down everything you need to know about the Thunderbolts. We’ve also got an article ranking every Marvel movie as well because we like to live dangerously.