X-Men fans celebrate return of ‘perfectly cast’ hero in new Avengers: Doomsday trailer

X-Men fans are celebrating on social media after getting a first glimpse of James Marsden returning to the role of Cyclops in a new trailer for the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday.

The Paradise star, 52, first played the superhero and his alter-ego Scott Summers in Bryan Singer’s 2000 film, X-Men.

He returned to the role in sequels X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). Despite the fact that the character was killed off in the latter movie, he returned to play a cameo role in 2014’s time-traveling X-Men: Days of Future Past.

He will play Cyclops once again in the upcoming Marvel epic, alongside a host of other X-Men stars, including Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique). The new trailer sees Professor X and Magneto reunite, playing a game of chess with hovering pieces. The clip then cuts to a dramatic scene of Cyclops ripping off his visor and unleashing an unrestrained optic blast.

On social media, fans lauded the return of Marsden to the role and noted that he wears a costume that’s faithful to the original comics.

On X, one fan wrote: “I’ve never been a Cyclops fan but I always thought James Marsden was perfectly cast and they did him dirty in the X-Men movies. Glad to see a possible redemption for Avengers: Doomsday.”

Another wrote: “James Marsden you deserved so much more for being Scott Summers,” while one posted a gif taken from the trailer with the caption: “JAMES MARSDEN AS CYCLOPS WILL FINALLY BE DONE JUSTICE IN AVENGERS DOOMSDAY RAGHHH.”

In August, Marsden described returning to the character of Cyclops as a “homecoming to a role that really put me on the map.”

Speaking to Vanity Fair, Marsden joked that he’s “getting a little long in the tooth to put on the superhero costume.”

He continued: “I was excited because you're a part of something gigantic, and 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.”

Avengers: Doomsday will arrive in cinemas December 18, 2026.