‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Including the Original X-Men ‘Just Felt Right,’ Says Kevin Feige: It’s a ‘Fun Way to Culminate’ 25 Years

Kevin Feige is celebrating 25 years of Marvel history by going back to the beginning.

The Marvel Studios president, who was an associate producer on the 2000s “X-Men,” is introducing several of the original characters — including James Marsden’s Cyclops, Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, Professor X, Magneto and more — into the MCU in “Avengers: Doomsday,” which hits theaters on Dec. 18.

“You see interviews of Hugh Jackman 15, 20 years ago saying, ‘People say it’s impossible, but maybe someday the X-Men and the Avengers can all get together.’ It just felt right,” Feige told Empire in a recent interview. “It just felt like the fun way to culminate a quarter-century of storytelling.”

Jackman’s influence on the fifth “Avengers” film does not stop with old interview clips.

Fans spotted on Thursday that the screenwriting credits for “Doomsday” list Ryan Reynolds and Jackman among the 10 writers who contributed to the movie. The writing credits for the Deadpool and Wolverine actors give the impression that they would be for writing dialogue for their “X-Men” characters, but it’s unclear if or how much they would appear in “Doomsday.”

It has been confirmed, though, that the late Patrick Stewart will return for his final movie role in “Doomsday,” which marks his ninth time playing the “X-Men” character Charles Xavier.

“Stewart made his debut as Professor X in 2000s ‘X-Men,’ where he embodied the composure, class and wisdom of the beloved telepathic mutant and mentor of the X-Men,” Marvel Studios wrote in a tribute. “For more than 25 years, he brought a gravitas and profundity to the [character] … He returned to the role once more with 2026’s ‘Avengers: Doomsday,’ his final on-screen appearance.”