The X-Men Are Officially Taking Over Disney+ Ahead of ‘Doomsday’ Return
The 2000 film X-Men has re-entered Disney+'s global Top 10 films chart, landing at number nine, as fans get ready for Avengers: Doomsday's December cinema release. Marvel Studios has published a "must-watch" list of shows and films to view beforehand, and the original X-Men features prominently because several of its cast, including Ian McKellen, James Marsden and Patrick Stewart, are expected to reprise their roles in the upcoming Avengers instalment.
X-Men starred Hugh Jackman as Wolverine alongside Stewart, McKellen, Halle Berry and Famke Janssen, and told the story of mutants caught between Magneto's belief in inevitable conflict with humans and a government drive to have them register their identities. The film grossed more than $296 million worldwide and spawned a long-running franchise, though it exists outside the main Marvel Cinematic Universe continuity, which is why a separate X-Men reboot is planned for 2028. Disney's pre-Doomsday watchlist also includes titles such as X2, The Avengers, Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame, Loki, Spider-Man: No Way Home and The Fantastic Four: First Steps, among others.
- X-Men (2000) has re-entered Disney+'s global Top 10 at number nine.
- Marvel released a watchlist ahead of Avengers: Doomsday's December release.
- Several original X-Men stars are set to return in the new film.
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The X-Men film franchise began with the original 2000 movie X-Men, which introduced Hugh Jackman as Wolverine alongside stars such as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Halle Berry and Famke Janssen. It told the story of mutants with superhuman abilities navigating tension between two rival mutant leaders' philosophies and a society, and government, wary of them. The film was a major box-office success and launched a long-running series of sequels and spin-offs.
Crucially, this X-Men series was made separately from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the connected run of films and shows featuring characters like Iron Man and the Avengers. That is now changing: several original X-Men cast members are set to appear in Avengers: Doomsday, a big crossover film due in cinemas in December, bringing the two previously separate worlds together on screen for the first time.
Marvel Studios, the company behind these films, and Disney, which owns Marvel and runs the streaming service Disney+, have been promoting older films and shows for audiences to watch as preparation before Doomsday's release. The renewed popularity of the original X-Men film reflects this build-up, as viewers revisit the characters' history ahead of their return in the new movie.