TheMCU’s biggest box office bomb now boasts the most important post-credits scene of the last five years thanks to theAvengers: Doomsdaylive stream. It was great to see the MCU confirm that some of its newer characters, like Shang-Chi and Namor, will be returning ina future MCU installmentwithMarvel’s surprise announcement thatAvengers: Doomsdayhas officially entered production. While their return was heralded by the post-credits scenes of the movies they starred in, the amount of time that has passed since their last appearance threatened to remove them from the MCU zeitgeist entirely.
The simple yet effective 5-hour live stream has unsurprisingly spurred speculation about how each of the characters will fit into the story. While notable absentees like Captain Marvel and Hulk suggest that there are moreAvengers: Doomsdaycast membersto be announced, the conversation has been dominated by those that were. The fact that Channing Tatum’s Gambit, for instance, has escaped the Void is a particularly exciting prospect, as is the presumption that he will immediately join up with his fellow mutants.
Avengers: Doomsday’s Cast Includes Many Returning X-Men Actors
Many (But Not All) Of Fox’s X-Men Cast Are Returning To The Big Screen
Keley Grammer was one of the more surprising names to arise intheAvengers: Doomsdaylive stream. This was then compounded as hisco-stars from Fox’s X-Men franchisesteadily joined him in the lineup. While Patrick Stewart was last seen portraying a Professor X variant inDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness(complete with comics-accurate yellow hover chair),co-stars like Ian McKellen and Alan Cumming were even more stunning due to the fact that they haven’t been seen since the X-Men movies.
Remy LeBeau/Gambit
Deadpool & Wolverine(2024)
In fact, Alan Cumming hasn’t been seen as Nightcrawler sinceX2in 2003. This would be his only appearance inFox’s X-Men franchisebefore Kodi Smit-McPhee inherited the role inthe alternate X-Men timelineinX-Men: ApocalypseandX-Men: Dark Phoenix.Despite Cumming stating emphatically that he would never reprise the roledue to the hours of makeup he had to endure (for exceptional results), he recently reacted to the news with a post onInstagramwhere he demonstrates his acrobatic skills with the caption “Never say never.”
10 Massive Fox X-Men Mistakes The MCU Has Fixed With The Avengers: Doomsday Cast Announcements
The Fox X-Men movies were far from perfect, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe has the chance to rectify some of their mistakes with the original cast.
James Marsden has additionally not been seen as Cyclops sinceX-Men: The Last Stand,where he was unceremoniously killed off, causing fans to rally for a return to help redeem the character.A fakeDeadpool & Wolverineleaktantalized this subset of the fandom with Cyclops in a comics-accurate X-Men suit, though this would ultimately prove to be a misdirection. Of all the original X-Men cast returning to the big screen, it’sKelsey Grammer’s Beast who boasts the most recent appearance.
Kelsey Grammer’s Beast Made His MCU Debut In The Marvels Credits Scene
Kelsey Grammer Appears As A Comics-Accurate Version Of Beast
We already know that these X-Men will come from another universe, thanks toThe Marvels. In thepost-credits scene forThe Marvels, Monica Rambeau is trapped in a parallel universe after mending the tear in spacetime between it and Earth-616. She first encounters a variant of her mother, Maria, who seems to be operating as Binary, before then meeting Kelsey Grammer’s Hank McCoy, AKA Beast.Beast informs Monica that she has inadvertently traveled to their parallel universebefore then declaring that “Charles” wanted an update.
It is still unclear whether Monica Rambeau entered the same universe as Deadpool.
Although a variant of Professor X had already appeared in the MCU at this point, Beast’s MCU cameo was particularly astonishing - not least because he survives to appear again. Unfortunately,his post-credits appearance was seen by very few at the time, dampening the impact of the scene asThe Marvelsgrossed only $200 million worldwide, making itthe lowest-grossing MCU movie. Nevertheless, the scene remains one of the Multiverse Saga’s most important thanks towhat has been revealed for Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Doomsday Makes The Marvels Credits Scene Very Important To The MCU
The Marvels Now Ties To Avengers: Doomsday Directly
Despite appearing in the one MCU movie that drew the smallest audience, this post-credits scene is now one of Marvel Studios' most consequential. Kelsey Grammer’s appearance in theAvengers: Doomsdaycast list points to the fact thatAvengers: Doomsdaywill follow up on this scene directly. Monica Rambeau is now an integral part of the MCU, as she will seemingly be the one to tie the X-Men to Earth-616. Incidentally, this also lends credence to the notion that Marvel intends to announcemore actors forAvengers: Doomsday, as Teyonah Parris’s name did not appear in the original lineup.
A prevailing theory now suggests that this could lead to an Avengers vs. X-Men adaptation as each team fights to save their own universe by destroying the other.
The fact that these iconic mutants will be appearing together inAvengers: Doomsdayhints at the possible story Marvel is looking to adapt. WithAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Warsrounding out the Multiverse Saga, it stands to reason that a core MacGuffin from the last Saga - namely, incursions - will finally come to bear as the main threat facing the Avengers. This suggests thatthe alternate universe in which the X-Men live will be on a collision course with the MCU’s Earth-616.
10 Things We Hope Are True About Avengers: Doomsday Based On The Order Of The Cast Reveal
The MCU have announced a whopping 27 names for the Avengers: Doomsday cast, but the order in which they were revealed hint at potential narratives.
A prevailing theory now suggests thatthis could lead to an Avengers vs. X-Men adaptationas each team fights to save their own universe by destroying the other. It seems as though the X-Men’s universe is most at risk, considering the collective age of the cast and the fact that the MCU is inexorably tied to Earth-616. Whatever the case, it is clear thatThe Marvels, despite having been one of the least-viewed MCU movies, played a larger part inthe Multiverse Saga’s throughlinethan many other MCU installments.
The Marvels Credits Scene Is Now More Important Than Most Others In The Last 5 Years
The Marvels Delivered A Post-Credits Scene That Will Actually Be Paid Off
One of the maincriticisms leveled at the Multiverse Sagais its general lack of cohesion, and the post-credits scenes of the last five years support this. LikeSpider-Man: Homecomingrevealing Scorpion is imprisoned with Vulture,there are several examples of plots being set up that don’t look as if they’ll ever be paid off. This has seemingly spurred Marvel to deliver less consequential post-credits scenes more frequently, withThe Marvelsbeing among the most important forAvengers: Doomsdayspecifically.
Captain America: Brave New World
July 06, 2025
The Leader explains to Captain America that other heroes are coming from another universe.
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever
August 06, 2025
Shuri comes to terms with T’Challa’s death and is introduced to his son, Toussant, by Nakia.
Thor: Love and Thunder
Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings
Black Widow
August 06, 2025
Valentina Allegra de Fontaine commissions Yelena Belova to hunt down Hawkeye.
Scenes like the introduction of Eros look less like they’ll ever amount to anything with each passing year. Meanwhile, the hard pivot from Kang the Conqueror to Doctor Doom as the Multiverse Saga’s arch-villain has rendered suchpost-credits scenes as the Council of Kangs and perhaps the beacon emanating from Shang-Chi’s Ten Rings obsolete, though it is feasible for the latter to be picked up on in another way.Captain America: Brave New Worlddirectly references the looming threat of another universe, with the Leader presumably referencing the X-Men when he warns Sam Wilson of other heroes.
Of course, there is still a chance that scenes such as Hercules' introduction and the symbiote left behind inSpider-Man: No Way Homecould be paid off inAvengers: Doomsday. Still,none comes close toThe Marvelsin terms of consequences, as it seems as though this version of Beast will directly enterAvengers: Doomsdayafter the live stream confirmed Grammer’s involvement. If and how the other post-credits scenes will affect the events ofAvengers: Doomsdayremains to be seen.
