Professor X actor Christopher Abbott said Marvel fans won’t see him in Avengers: Doomsday or Secret Wars because he needs to wrap up his time with X-Men before doing any cameos.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe newcomer tried his best not to play coy during a conversation with Rolling Stone. When pressed on whether comic book fans will see his shaved head fighting against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom at any point in the next year or so, he insisted he doesn’t have any additional team-up movies on his plate for now.
“I don’t think so,” when asked if he’ll appear in any cameo roles before X-Men. “I don’t even know… See, what’s happening? What do you mean?”
Christopher Abbott, who will play Professor X in 2028’s ‘X-Men’ reboot, says he will not be in the upcoming Avengers movie.
“I don’t think so. Well, I don’t even know–what’s happening? What do you mean? I don’t know what’s going on. On no. I’m not in that. I gotta do the ‘X-Men’ movie first before any of that stuff.”
— Rolling Stone (@RollingStone) October 25, 2026
When the interviewer clarified, asking if he’ll play in Doomsday, he had a quick reply: “No, I’m not in that.”
Abbott joined a cast of other would-be mutant heroes when Marvel Studios confirmed he had been picked to play Professor X at D23 earlier this year. The announcement also came with a May 2028 release date, giving him plenty of time to prepare to play the group’s leader, and if fans are lucky, show up for a scene or two beforehand.
After all, Doomsday and Secret Wars aren’t just your run-of-the-mill superhero flicks. These are saga-ending event films packed to the gills with A-listers and, of course, cameos to keep the MCU going well into the future. With the 2000s versions of the X-Men, including Patrick Stewart’s version of Charles Xavier, having already shown up for a few Doomsday trailers, many have wondered if the new X-Men cast would show up on-screen before Marvel’s 2027 slate launched. If Abbott is out, though, the chances of an early MCU debut for other X-Men (besides Sadie Sink’s Jean Grey) just got a little less likely.
“I gotta do the X-Men movie first before any of that stuff,” he continued.
When the interviewer interjected, pointing out that hard launching characters without a cameo is “famously not how Marvel works,” Abbott said with a chuckle, “Look, no coyness: I’m not in that movie.”
With Doomsday less than two months from its December 18, 2026, release date, it really does sound like Abbott won’t show up. However, with more than a full year before Secret Wars follows come December 17, 2027, and no trailers out yet, who knows? At least as far as this new take on Professor X is concerned, it’s best not to get hopes up too high in the meantime.
Set to join Abbott on the team are Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Maya Boyd as Storm, Asa Germann as Angel, and more. We’ll at least see the X-Men team unite when the reboot premieres May 5, 2028. Until then, you can get a sneak peek at Navarrette’s progress on developing Rogue’s accent.
Photo by ANGELA WEISS / AFP via Getty Images.
Michael Cripe is a freelance writer with IGN. He’s best known for his work at sites like The Pitch, The Escapist, and OnlySP. Be sure to give him a follow on Bluesky (@mikecripe.bsky.social) and Twitter (@MikeCripe).
