Category: Arts & Entertainment

by Sophia Caneira ’29 on January 22, 2026

Just last week, Marvel and the Russo Brothers released a new trailer for
Avengers: Doomsday, coming to theaters this December. The trailer featured the brief
appearances of three iconic characters from the X-Men franchise: Professor X (played
by Sir Patrick Stuart), Magneto (played by Sir Ian McKellen), and Cyclops (played by
James Marsden). The upcoming film has received a lot of attention as several
announcements were released about the host of classic characters set to appear in it.
Theories about the characters and plot are circulating on social media, with some going
as far as to predict the film’s ending based on the stylized lettering of the movie’s title.

The X-Men franchise, particularly the films from the new timeline—X-Men: First
Class (2011), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), X-Men: Apocalypse (2016), and Dark
Phoenix (2019)—are very close to my heart. While I do look forward to seeing fan-
favorite characters back on-screen, I fear my hopes for the film’s success may be too
high. I worry this new film will ruin a perfectly good series. It’s no secret that Marvel films
have been less successful and far less popular since the release of Avengers:
Endgame in 2019. Of the subsequent films, I’ve only seen a handful, but for the most
part, I was more than disappointed by what I saw. Thunderbolts* (2025) restored some
of my hope for Marvel’s future, but there is a caveat when it comes to Avengers:
Doomsday: I honestly lose interest when Marvel decides to merge the paths of separate
teams like the Avengers, the Fantastic Four, and the X-Men. Don’t get me wrong, I love
each of these franchises individually, but in my mind, they always existed on separate
planes within the Marvel Universe. There was a sense of magic that came along with
the fact that the Avengers and the X-Men were two completely different stories that both featured scenes in two different New York Cities.

Moreover, this isn’t the first time Marvel is experimenting with introducing the X-Men to other franchises. I wasn’t impressed by the way Professor X was already incorporated into the Doctor Strange franchise in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). Deadpool & Wolverine (2024) was somewhat entertaining, but I lost interest when it came to the breaking timelines plot.

With a few exceptions, I feel like many films and spin-off shows nowadays
receive a lot of promotion, but leave you disappointed when the screen goes dark.
Some of this, I think, is due to lazy writing and a money-grab mindset. This is true within
other big franchises, like the Star Wars universe. The trilogy referred to as the sequels
proved to me that some movie franchises are better left alone. Christopher Nolan’s Dark
Knight trilogy is a fantastic exception to this phenomenon. Nolan gave us a neat set of
three films and never took advantage of their enormous success by making a spin-off or
a sequel. The trilogy comes to an ideal, satisfying ending, and needs no further
expansion. Of course, there are always exceptions—Rogue One: A Star Wars Story
(2016) is a beautiful piece of cinema. I also found the TV series The Mandalorian highly
enjoyable. It’s obvious when you watch these movies that the filmmakers in charge of
them cared deeply about their projects. Director Dave Filoni worked on both of the
projects I mentioned, and he has spoken about his heartfelt love for the Star Wars
saga—not just as a filmmaker, but as a fan first and foremost. His passion for Star Wars
is evident in his storytelling, with which he tries to honor the spirit of the original films.

With a mass of mediocre films piling up, dare I ask when Marvel will stop making
movies? Or at least, when will they stop adding onto preexisting franchises and explore
a unique vein? I suppose it’s a rhetorical question. As long as fans continue to visit the
theaters (only to leave somewhat disappointed), Marvel movies will endure—especially
when there is so much fanfare surrounding the release of a film like Avengers:
Doomsday, with the countless announcements of beloved characters returning in the
latest installment. Online, fans are joking that characters like Yoda, Lightning McQueen,
and Kermit the Frog will also be joining the cast. I had to laugh when I saw a user
comment, “I will return in Avengers: Doomsday.”

I hope that the filmmakers in charge of this task are people who truly love the
Marvel stories. I say this even as I fight back my own excitement in seeing the new
trailer. It’s hard to resist when you see Professor X and Magneto playing yet another
game of chess and Cyclops shooting laser beams into the sky.