Cyclops and Hulk Are Both Back in Avengers: Doomsday — James Marsden and Mark Ruffalo Return

Two more heroes are back for Avengers: Doomsday. A new image shows James Marsden in costume as Cyclops, and The Hollywood Reporter reports that Mark Ruffalo is returning as Bruce Banner, the Hulk. The film opens on December 18, 2026, and its cast keeps growing as the date gets closer.

When @thecaughtup shared the Cyclops image on Instagram on Friday, it carried the same close-up of Marsden in his blue X-Men suit, his hand raised to his visor. It is the first new look at the character in his Doomsday costume.

Here is the post we shared on Instagram:

Cyclops Is Back in Avengers: Doomsday

The new image is a close-up. Marsden wears the blue X-Men suit and the red-lined visor. His gloved hand is raised to the visor, and a second costumed figure stands blurred behind him. The post presents it as a new look at Cyclops in Doomsday.

Marsden’s return is not new news. Marvel named him as Cyclops in its five-hour cast livestream on March 26, 2025. The reveal named 27 actors, and it brought back much of the original Fox X-Men cast. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming and Kelsey Grammer were all on the same list.

Marsden first played Scott Summers in X-Men in 2000. He returned in X2 in 2003, and the character was killed off early in X-Men: The Last Stand in 2006. His last appearance was a brief return in X-Men: Days of Future Past in 2014. Now, more than a decade later, he is back in the suit.

The role may be bigger this time. Marsden discussed Cyclops with Empire magazine in November, and reporting around the film says he will play a pivotal part. He also appears with McKellen and Channing Tatum on the covers of Empire‘s January 2027 issue.

Hulk Is Back in Avengers: Doomsday

Ruffalo’s return took longer to pin down. His name was missing from Marvel’s March 2025 cast reveal. In January, he told Empire he would not be in the film. As a result, fans spent months asking whether the Hulk would appear at all.

Now the answer has changed. According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ruffalo is officially returning as Bruce Banner in Doomsday. The report landed on November 13, the same day @thecaughtup shared the news on Instagram. Marvel itself has still not added his name to its announced cast list, so the return rests on the trade report and on what the film has already shown on screen.

Here is the post we shared on Instagram:

The Avengers: Endgame Encore re-release adds a post-credits scene with Banner. He lives in a military facility two miles underground, working on a serum to stop his transformations. Then Doctor Doom arrives and tells Banner, “I’m here to collect you.” When the recording resumes, Banner is gone, and a glowing green Latverian emblem is burned into the floor.

The scene follows Spider-Man: Brand New Day. In that film, Jean Grey took control of Banner’s mind, and the Hulk came back in his most savage form. Banner was locked away to keep the Hulk from hurting anyone. Now Doom has taken him, and the film has not said why. Joe Russo has said only that Banner is “certainly involved in the story that revolves around Doom.”

Why Do Cyclops and Hulk Matter for Doomsday?

Both returns point to the same plan: Doom is collecting power. He has already taken Banner, and the VisionQuest finale showed him waking Scarlet Witch from the dead with the words, “Scarlet Witch, awaken. Your power will be mine.” Banner is the second Avenger Doom has taken on screen.

Cyclops matters for a different reason. His return brings the Fox X-Men into the MCU in full. Marvel’s own watchlist for the film starts with the original X-Men from 2000, and the story turns on incursions between universes. See the full list in Marvel’s official Doomsday watchlist. Cyclops leads that team, and his return signals that the X-Men are not a cameo. They are part of the fight.

Together, the two returns show the scale of the film. The Avengers, the Fantastic Four, the Thunderbolts and the X-Men all face the same villain. Doom is gathering the strongest beings in the multiverse before the battle even starts.

Avengers: Doomsday Confirmed Cast

When Does Avengers: Doomsday Come Out?

Avengers: Doomsday opens in theatres on December 18, 2026. Anthony and Joe Russo direct, from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely. The sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars, follows on December 17, 2027. Tickets went on sale on October 5, 2026.

With five weeks to go, the cast is still not fully announced. Anthony Russo has said more names are still to come. If the last few days are any guide, the next reveal may not wait for Marvel to say it first.

Sources: SuperHeroHype / The Hollywood Reporter (“Avengers: Doomsday Cast Officially Adds One of MCU’s Oldest & Most Beloved Heroes,” November 13, 2026); Comic Basics (“Mark Ruffalo’s Hulk Is Officially Back for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’,” November 13, 2026); FandomWire (“Marvel Finally Gives Cyclops the Respect X-Men 3 Denied Him 20 Years Ago,” November 13, 2026); Xplorely (“Avengers: Doomsday Release Date, Cast and Everything Confirmed,” updated November 11, 2026); InBella (“Avengers: Endgame re-release completely changes the ending ahead of Doomsday,” November 13, 2026); @thecaughtup (Instagram, November 13, 2026).

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