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  1. Entertainment
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  5. X-Men

Jean Grey actor says Marvel "never ever" asked her to return as her X-Men character after the Fox era

News
By Nick Staniforth published 1 November 2025

"I didn't realize that was such a big part."

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Famke Janssen as Jean Grey in X2: X-Men United
(Image credit: 20th Century Studios)
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Avengers: Doomsday certainly has some powerful mutants on its guest list, given that James Marsden (Cyclops), Alan Cumming (Nightcrawler), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and Ian McKellen (Magneto) are set to return. However, one dedicated member of the X-Men who won't be making an appearance is Famke Janssen's Jean Grey, who hasn't been called since the mutants found their way over to Marvel Studios.

Making her debut as the powerful Omega-level mutant in the 2000 movie, X-Men, Janssen made repeat appearances in the franchise as Jean, spending most of her time getting doe eyes from Logan (Hugh Jackman) and no eyes at all from Scott Summers (Marsden) before Sophie Turner took over the role. When asked by Entertainment Weekly if she'd been contacted about returning to the part, Janssen broke the bad news that she had never received an invitation. "Never," she admitted. "Never ever." That clears that up, then.

Even though she had not played the role since 2014, following her brief appearance in X-Men: Days of Future Past, the question keeps coming up, much to her surprise. "Every time I do an interview, it's mentioned," Janssen revealed. "It's interesting. I didn't realize that was such a big part."

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  • James Marsden as Cyclops in Avengers Doomsday X-Men star James Marsden says the Russo Brothers are "upping the ante" with Avengers: Doomsday
  • Cyclops firing his optic blasts into the air and screaming, painted by Mark Sasso The Avengers: Doomsday X-Men teaser is now in theaters and it finally gives fans exactly what we've been begging for

Of course, stars dodging questions about returning as their comic book counterparts is a common thing nowadays, and for good reason. Over the past few years, we've seen the return of a Wolverine, two Spider-Men, and a Batman from the '80s, all making a comeback when we thought they never would. With that in mind, perhaps there's a chance for Jean Grey to rise from the ashes at some point, maybe even during Thunderbolts director Jake Schreier's X-Men movie, which will finally see the world of mutants collide with the rest of the MCU.

As for the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, you can keep up to date with every movie and show heading your way thanks to our carefully curated list here.

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Nick Staniforth
Nick Staniforth
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Contributing Writer

Nick is a freelancer whose work can be found at Screen Rant, The Digital Fix, and Looper. He loves movies, TV, DC, and Marvel. He also believes that the best Robin Hood is still a talking fox.

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