The initial cast reveal video for Avengers: Doomsday was an exciting day filled with major surprises. While the expected names like Chris Hemsworth, Florence Pugh, Anthony Mackie, and Vanessa Kirby popped up, the shocks came when we saw Ian McKellen, Patrick Stewart, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer, and other actors from the old X-Men movies that were produced by Fox. Although some of these actors had reprised those roles in small appearances over the years, having most of the original team of X-Men in an Avengers movie was a big deal that most people didn’t see coming. That said, it did stand out to a lot of people that certain names were missing and they all seemed to be women. For example, as great as Alan Cunmming was as Nightcrawler, he was only in one X-Men movie, yet he’s back for Avengers: Doomsday, while several notable ladies aren’t coming back at all.
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If you look back a decade ago, Famke Janssen actually made note of how Hollywood treats women in these scenarios. Janssen famously played Jean Grey in the Fox X-Men movies and had a memorable quote before X-Men: Apocalypse that has only become more true as time has passed, especially when it comes to the casting news for Avengers: Doomsday.
Famke Janssen’s Quote Was Accurate At The Time
After the initial X-Men trilogy, Fox rebooted the franchise as a prequel series with X-Men: First Class. The follow-up, X-Men: Days of Future Past, involved time travel and saw original cast members like Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, Halle Berry, and Ian McKellen return. Famke Janssen came back as Jean Grey, but only in a small cameo right at the end of the film. The next installment, X-Men: Apocalypse, introduced Sophie Turner as a younger Jean Grey, which is when we heard from Janssen on the subject.
While speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Janssen said, “Women, it’s interesting because they’re replaced, and the older versions are never to be seen again. Whereas the men are allowed to be both ages. Sexism. I think that I should be back along with my younger version and the way that we’ve seen it with Magneto and Professor X.” Janssen’s words weren’t sour grapes, as she praised Sophie Turner ahead of her taking over the role. When Turner reached out for advice, Janssen told her that she didn’t need any because she’s great and couldn’t wait to see her as Jean Grey.
Janssen reportedly inquired about returning but only received radio silence and noted that this is a much bigger problem within Hollywood. Her comments came soon after a study revealed that as women get older, they receive less dialogue in films, while men receive more when they get older. Unfortunately, it’s a decade later, and the questionable casting choices for the returning actors in Avengers: Doomsday only add credibility to what Janssen said.
The Lack Of Women Returning For Avengers: Doomsday Means This Quote Is Even Truer Now
One of the standout elements of the cast list for Avengers: Doomsday was that so many X-Men were returning, yet the women were surprisingly absent. Rebecca Romijn is back as Mystique, and that’s it. Famke Janssen is missing as Jean Grey, and there was potential for something story-related there since the MCU just introduced its own take on Jean, with Sadie Sink taking on the role in Spider-Man: Brand New Day. The film is also lacking every other woman from the franchise, from Anna Paquin to Halle Berry to Kelly Hu.
If you’re bringing back the original team of X-Men, leaving out all the women except for one seems odd. The movie found space for Channing Tatum’s Gambit, who was never even in an X-Men film with those actors. It’s unclear if Avengers: Doomsday will figure out a way to properly explain why these specific characters are missing, yet even if they do, it still feels like the kind of thing Janssen was talking about a decade ago. For some reason, the women over 40 and 50 are mostly being ignored, while the men that age are always brought back.
The lack of women in Avengers: Doomsday goes beyond the X-Men. The main cast is massive, yet there are around three times as many men confirmed as there are women. The likes of Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, Tessa Thompson, Hailee Steinfeld, Evangeline Lilly, and Danai Gurira don’t seem to be in the movie. They even left out Xochitl Gomez, who plays a character who can literally travel the multiverse, which seems important for a multiverse story. As excited as we all are for Avengers: Doomsday, this certainly seems like it was poorly handled by the MCU and isn’t a good look for Hollywood as a whole.
Avengers: Doomsday Is Still Hiding an Entire Avengers Team Five Months Before Release
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