AVENGERS: SECRET WARS Rumored To Bring Back Two Legendary X-MEN Stars

WhileAvengers: Doomsday has been rumored to serve as a farewell for several of the franchise's mutant heroes, a new report suggests two of its biggest stars will return for Avengers: Secret Wars.

According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, Patrick Stewart andIan McKellen are expected to reprise their roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto in Secret Wars, potentially giving the longtime rivals another opportunity to share the screen.

That's pretty exciting news for fans who thought Avengers: Doomsday would be their final appearance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

There's been plenty of speculation about how Doomsday will end, with one popular theory suggesting Doctor Doom will kill a ton of heroes and emerge victorious and rule over Battleworld. If that happens, Secret Wars could pick up with Marvel's surviving heroes trying to reclaim their shattered reality.

The movie is expected to draw inspiration from Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars comic book storyline, although a direct adaptation seems unlikely. Marvel will probably need to make some significant changes to fit everything into the MCU.

One of the biggest questions surrounding Secret Wars is which characters will actually make it into the movie. Previous rumors suggested that Doomsday would mark the end of the road for most of 20th Century Fox's X-Men, with Deadpool and Wolverine being possible exceptions.

That would give Marvel some distance between the original cast's farewell and its planned X-Men reboot in 2028. However, Stewart and McKellen might be sticking around a little longer.

The report doesn't reveal what Professor X and Magneto will be doing in Secret Wars, but their rumored involvement could connect to earlier claims that Marvel is saving characters such as Storm and Jean Grey for the Multiverse Saga's big finale.

Stewart has also made it clear that he has no intention of walking away from acting anytime soon. When asked whether he planned to retire following Doomsday, the actor explained:

"As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer available roles as we get older. That being said, I still continue to receive interesting offers, and I love being challenged by new work. I can't imagine ever officially 'retiring.' I'll always and forever be an actor."

McKellen, meanwhile, has teased some of Magneto's destructive activities in Doomsday. While discussing his return to the role, he casually revealed: "[I] destroyed New Jersey the other day.”

For now, Stewart and McKellen's reported involvement in Secret Wars remains a rumor, and Marvel Studios hasn't confirmed their appearances.

Still, getting these two legendary actors back together for another chapter of the X-Men's story would be awesome, especially if Marvel gives Professor X and Magneto a proper sendoff before introducing a new generation of mutants.

Avengers: Doomsday arrives in theaters on December 18, 2026, followed by Avengers: Secret Wars on December 17, 2027.