An apparent Avengers: Doomsday set photo has set the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom into overdrive, with some claiming it signals bad news for the X-Men.
Warning! Potential spoilers for Avengers: Doomsday follow.
Last month's Avengers: Doomsday cast reveal was heavy on veteran X-Men actors. Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden are all now set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, confirming the X-Men are in the film in a big way. Grammer famously played Beast in the Fox X-Men franchise before making his MCU debut via The Marvels' post-credits scene. Stewart played Charles Xavier/Professor X in the X-Men films before appearing briefly in the MCU via Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as a member of the Illuminati. McKellen, who played Magneto, has not yet appeared in the MCU. Neither has Cumming, who played Nightcrawler, Romijn, who played Mystique, nor Marsden, who played Cyclops. It begs the question: is Avengers: Doomsday secretly an Avengers vs. X-Men movie?
Now, there is speculation that the X-Men will be introduced early in Avengers: Doomsday and meet their doom: Doctor Doom, that is.
The alleged set photo in question emerged online this week from an apparent drone doing something it certainly shouldn’t ahead of the beginning of filming in London. It shows what very much looks like the grounds of the X-Mansion, also known as Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters, as it appears in the Fox X-Men films, with mini-craters suggesting a big battle is taking place.
This photo has led to significant speculation about the events of Avengers: Doomsday, and the consensus is that it is the setting for a battle between the X-Men and Doctor Doom. This battle, some are predicting, will appear early in the film as a result of an incursion, and will go very badly for the X-Men, potentially even wiping the mutants out.
Why? To establish the universe-ending potential of Doctor Doom, in a similar way Avengers: Infinity War kicked off with Thanos beating Hulk so badly Hulk basically went into hiding for the rest of the MCU phase.
“Yeah I think we will have a conquest scene for the cold open of doom massacring the OG X-men,” redditor Nethias25 predicted. “Everyone is excited about the return of the top talent but I'm betting they are dead before the logo.”
Of course, this speculation could be wide of the mark. The photo itself may not reveal what the MCU community thinks it is, and relate to something else entirely. But if it does show the X-Mansion, and we are in for an X-Men vs Doom battle, that would help explain the return of all those Fox X-Men characters.
Now production on Avengers: Doomsday has kicked off, Marvel Studios faces an uphill challenge keeping its secrets off the internet. There is perhaps no other film in development right now with more interest than the next Avengers, and fans are desperate for plot hints, especially given the sheer number of superheroes already confirmed to make an appearance.
Fans were already speculating that Oscar Isaac may appear in Avengers as Moon Knight because he pulled out of this month’s Star Wars Celebration event “due to changes in his production schedule.”
Marvel Studios producer Kevin Feige has confirmed that the Avengers livestream did not include the entire cast of Doomsday — “We revealed many, not all,” he said over a video call at CinemaCon.
Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].
