2026 will finally see Earth’s Mightiest Heroes and the X-Men together in live-action through the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Avengers: Doomsday. With Marvel Studios owning the rights to the mutants after Disney’s acquisition of Fox, the MCU timeline is bringing several original X-Men stars back for one of the final installments in The Multiverse Saga.
During his appearance at New York Comic-Con 2025, Simu Liu (via @hey__arthur) was asked about his involvement with Avengers: Doomsday, as Shang-Chi is set to return to the franchise on the big screen next year. “I mean, what an incredible call to get. I experienced kind of many waves of excitement,” as he looked back at the big Marvel Studios live-stream on March 26, 2025.
He elaborated on learning who would be part of the 2026 entry, “I think first getting that call and then learning who else was gonna be there, some of whom I had had the pleasure of meeting and some I had not yet met.” While not revealing too many details, he added, “But each and every one of them just iconic, iconic people.”
Liu, who first joined the MCU in 2021, shared working with the X-Men actors, “I think this is public now, but like Sir Ian McKellen, Sir Patrick Stewart, just people who I grew up watching and idolizing.” However, he treaded carefully with plot points, “And then having gotten maybe, maybe having gotten the opportunity to do scenes with them at some point.”
The Shang-Chi star finished his answer by adding, “That may or may not have been even better – would be something that I maybe would say if I was in the movie.” The Avengers: Doomsday cast finished filming on September 19, 2025.
The team-up film will also feature Rebecca Romijn and James Marsden from the original trilogy, as they will reprise the roles of Mystique and Cyclops, respectively. Alan Cumming will also be back as Nightcrawler for the first time since his debut in 2003’s X2.
While he never appeared in the original X-Men movies, another mutant who will be showing up again next year is Channing Tatum’s Gambit, following his debut in 2024’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine. MCU veterans Anthony and Joe Russo directed Avengers: Doomsday, and are also set to helm Avengers: Secret Wars.
It’s unclear if the X-Men characters will only be in the penultimate film of The Multiverse Saga, or if they will also show up in the 2027 installment. Avengers: Doomsday is slated to hit theaters on December 18, 2026.
