The comic book genre has been popular for years, and before we got the MCU there were the X-Men movies. That series (which is streaming with a Disney+ subscription) ran for years, including the First Class reboot. One actor from X-Men: Apocalypse recently expressed interest in returning to the role, and I think the character totally deserves it.
Fans who spent years watching the Marvel movies in order have been patiently waiting for the X-Men to finally join shared universe. Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox opened these doors, and a number of the OG stars are part of the Avengers: Doomsday cast list. Actor Ben Hardy played Angel in Apocalypse, and spoke to ComicBook how much passion he had for that role. In his words:
I loved it. It was quite a small role in that movie. I think the character in the comic books … I would say this — but I do think amongst X-Men fans, it’s very much true — I think that there’s so much to explore there. I think it’s not really been explored that much on film.
Angel has had an interesting life on the big screen. Despite being an OG Member of the X-Men in the comics, he only appeared briefly in The Last Stand and Apocalypse, played by Ben Foster and Ben Hardy respectively. And as such, there's much more of that character's history and personality that hasn't been explored on film just yet.
In Apocalypse, Angel was one of the titular villain's horsemen, and was given his signature metal wings as a gift. Unfortunately he perished in the final battle, but that doesn't mean that's canon for the MCU. In the same interview, Ben Hardy expressed interest in reprising that role, offering:
And who knows? Whether it’s me or if it’s someone else, I’d love to do it, because I did so much research on that character and I’d love to bring that to the screen. But who knows? I’m waiting on a phone call, so just generate some buzz to at least give me the opportunity, please.
Did you hear that, Kevin Feige? The plans for the MCU's X-Men movie are a total mystery, so now might be the perfect time for Hardy to get in touch with the powers that be at Marvel. Because if the studio is planning on bringing the OG team lineup from the comics, they'd need someone to play the winged hero.
As previously mentioned, a number of original X-Men actors are going to be returning to their roles for Avengers: Doomsday. Namely Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer and Rebecca Romijn. How they'll factor into the story remains to be seen, but longtime fans are hyped for this bit of casting news.
The X-Men movies are streaming on Disney+ and Avengers: Doomsday will hit theaters December 18th of next year as part of the 2025 movie release list.
