James Marsden Is Returning To His Best Role?
James Marsden said in a recent interview he's willing to return as Scott Summers, Cyclops of the X-Men, in a future MCU movie.
James Marsden may have starred in critical hits like Westworld, The Stand, and Sonic the Hedgehog, but everyone knows his best role was as Scott Summers (aka Cyclops) in Fox’s X-Men movies. Geekosity reports that he’s open to returning as the team’s field leader, which would make fans happy as, over the years a consensus has formed that Marsden was wasted in the original trilogy. With the MCU becoming a multiverse filled with an infinite array of characters and two of his old co-stars making appearances, we could see Cyclops back in action.
Speaking at one of the many awards shows this year, James Marsden said “Yeah, I mean, I’m all about material, and what the story is, and what the character would be doing, but it’s a character that I played and it’s very close to my heart, and that family, I miss it dearly.”
That statement is all good, even a bit hopeful for long-suffering fans of the eldest Summers brother, but there’s more: “We created a very special thing with the first couple of ‘X-Men’ movies and yeah, I’d love to explore that. But you know, I would want to see what that looks like first, I guess.” Chances are if any return will kill him off-screen, just as Bryan Singer to the character in X-Men: The Last Stand, James Marsden will stay away and keep counting his Sonic money.
His third outing as Cyclops was cut dramatically short due to conflicts with the filming of Superman Returns, which was also released in 2006, making Marsden the only actor to be in both a DC and Marvel film in the same year. Steve Agee and David Dastmalchian may someday pull off the same trick, but for now, James Marsden is the only answer to the trivia question.
Compared to his lead role in X-Men, Superman Returns can be viewed as a step-down, playing Richard White, Lois Lane’s (Kate Bosworth) fiancee’. The very human character served as a different type of foil to Superman (Brandon Routh) in that he was a problem for the hero that could not be solved through force. James Marsden thought the role was worth giving up his position as Cyclopes, and ultimately only his opinion matters, but thankfully he was eventually granted a much better send-off.
X-Men: Days of Future Past rewrote the timeline of the Fox-era X-Men and ended with a fan-friendly sequence featuring the original trilogy stars walking around the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters once again. James Marsden returned as Cyclops for a brief cameo that was one of the best parts of the blockbuster film. Fans may get an even better send-off in the eventual multiverse mashup film Secret Wars, which is rumored to be guest-starring everyone that ever set foot on a Marvel set, from Ben Affleck to Chris Evans and Robert Downey Jr.
James Marsden’s next big film is Unfrosted: The Pop-Tart Story, a comedy from Jerry Seinfeld about the greatest breakfast food. Marsden plays Jack LaLanne, the real-life fitness guru that invented most of the machines used in gyms today. It will be a while before Marvel reveals any information about Secret Wars or how the X-Men will be joining the MCU, but Cyclops fans will be waiting for any good news.
