Cyclops and Magneto Officially Return in New 'Avengers: Doomsday' Theatrical Trailer

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Ryan O'Rourke is a Senior News Writer at Collider with a specific interest in all things adult animation, video game adaptations, and the work of Mike Flanagan. He is also an experienced baseball writer with over six years of articles between multiple outlets, most notably FanSided's CubbiesCrib. Whether it's taking in a baseball game, a new season of Futurama or Castlevania: Nocturne, or playing the latest From Software title, he is always finding ways to show his fandom. When it comes to gaming and anything that takes inspiration from it, he is deeply opinionated on what's going on. Outside of entertainment, he's a graduate of Eureka College with a Bachelor's in Communication where he honed his craft as a writer. Between The IV Leader at Illinois Valley Community College and The Pegasus at Eureka, he spent the majority of his college career publishing articles on everything from politics to campus happenings and, of course, entertainment for the student body. Those principles he learned covering the 2020 election, Palestine, and so much more are brought here to Collider, where he has gleefully written on everything from the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes to Nathan Lane baby-birding sewer boys.

Another week into the theatrical run of Avatar: Fire and Ash means another teaser for Avengers: Doomsday has arrived. Like the previous two installments in Disney's rollout plan of four trailers across four weeks, the new trailer gives theatergoers the best look yet at one of the most exciting aspects of the big team-up event, the X-Men. It's an even further blast from the past for Marvel fans after Chris Evans and Chris Hemsworth took the spotlight in the first half of the batch. How the X-Men characters ultimately enter and factor into this multiversal battle against Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom remains to be seen.

The return of the old 20th Century Fox X-Men during the dramatic chair reveal earlier this year, including Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, and James Marsden, set the precedent that anything was possible for Doomsday. Some of the stars haven't suited up for a superhero adventure in nearly a quarter of a century, and only Stewart and Grammer have made brief appearances in the MCU. Complete with comic-accurate costumes, the film is pulling out all the stops to make Professor X, Magneto, Beast, Nightcrawler, Mystique, and Cyclops' crossover into the Multiverse Saga one for the fans that tries to honor their cinematic legacy. They'll get the chance to interact with fellow veterans of the franchise, like Benedict Cumberbatch, Letitia Wright, Tenoch Huerta, Simu Liu, Paul Rudd, and Tom Hiddleston, as well as the Thunderbolts, Fantastic Four, and Channing Tatum's Gambit, following his Deadpool & Wolverine appearance.

Still to get a spotlight ahead of release, however, is Downey Jr.'s Doom. His return to the MCU as the iconic villain, complete with a hefty reported payday of over $100 million, has been a big factor in Doomsday's status as one of 2026's most anticipated films, even if he's been kept mostly in the shadows so far. The Fantastic Four: First Steps teased his connection to Marvel's first family when he appeared in the mid-credits scene, looming over Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm's (Vanessa Kirby) baby, Franklin. Combined with the star's seeming confirmation about "getting Victor Von Doom right," all indications are that he's playing the Latverian ruler rather than a darker mirror to Iron Man as some speculated after the casting. With his motivations a mystery, the MCU is happy to keep fans guessing with what limited information is available until release.

'Avengers: Doomsday' Will Bring Back Everyone's Favorite Characters

Not only is Downey Jr. signed on for Doomsday, but he's also confirmed to return for the Russo Brothers' second half of the crossover epic, Avengers: Secret Wars. That ties in with Captain America: Brave New World star Anthony Mackie's previous tease about a cliffhanger ending to Collider's Michael Zimmerman. Plot details are being kept under wraps for both films, though he warned viewers to guard their hearts because "Everyone is expendable." Paul Bettany was the most recent to seemingly confirm his involvement in the film as Vision, while Sadie Sink has been heavily implied to join the fray as her mystery Spider-Man: Brand New Day character. More big names are expected to be revealed for both films in the run-up to their respective releases.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026. One more trailer will be released with screenings of Avatar: Fire and Ash next week. Stay tuned here at Collider for more on the big MCU crossover film as more information comes out.