James Marsden says Cyclops return in Avengers: Doomsday 'finally feels right'
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James Marsden is officially stepping back into the role of Cyclops, and this time, the experience feels far more heroic.
While appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, the Jury Duty star opened up about reprising his iconic X-Men role in the upcoming Marvel film Avengers: Doomsday. Marsden revealed that one of the biggest changes this time around is the costume, a comic-accurate upgrade that’s a far cry from the black leather suits featured in the early 2000s X-Men films.
“The first movies, we were just in black leather… they were very tight, very restrictive. We couldn’t move,” Marsden said, reflecting on his experience filming the original trilogy.
The actor even recalled an awkward moment during the production of X-Men (2000), when he and co-star Hugh Jackman struggled with a simple stunt.
“Hugh and I had to jump over a little retaining wall outside the Statue of Liberty, and we both were tripping over it,” Marsden shared, adding that the moment left him feeling anything but superhuman. “We thought we were going to get fired. We didn’t feel like superheroes.”
That’s no longer the case. With Avengers: Doomsday, Marsden says stepping into the updated suit was a completely different experience.
“To put this on felt very cool… felt very proud,” he said.
James Marsden on finally wearing a comics-accurate Cyclops costume in ‘AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY’
“The first movies we were just in black leather that was very very tight… Then to put this on, I felt very cool — I felt very proud. And then the visor goes on and I go, ‘I can’t see… pic.twitter.com/7voNIFCxuJStill, not everything about being Cyclops comes easy. Marsden noted that the character’s signature visor continues to pose a challenge, limiting his vision while filming.
Marsden first portrayed Scott Summers in X-Men (2000), before returning for X2 (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006). He later made a cameo appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), briefly reprising the role.
Avengers: Doomsday marks a major milestone for Marvel, as it formally introduces the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe following The Walt Disney Company’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.
Marsden won’t be the only familiar face returning. Patrick Stewart is set to reprise his role as Professor X, alongside Ian McKellen as Magneto, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler, and Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, bringing together a nostalgic lineup of X-Men veterans for the next chapter of the MCU.