Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen and James Marsden break Wesley Snipes' record for 'the longest career as a live-action Marvel character' by reprising their respective roles in Avengers: Doomsday.

Current record (Premiere dates taken into account):

**Wesley Snipes**: **25** years, 11 months and 1 day, as **Eric Brooks/Blade** between ***Blade*** (1998) and ***Deadpool & Wolverine*** (2024).

Previous records:

**Hugh Jackman**: **24** years as **Logan**/**Wolverine** between ***X-Men*** (2000) and ***Deadpool & Wolverine*** (2024)

**Tobey Maguire**, **J.K. Simmons** and **Willem Dafoe** as **Peter Parker/Spider-Man**, **J.Jonah Jameson** and **Norman Osborn/Green Goblin.**

Now **Patrick Stewart**, **Ian McKellen** and **James Marsden** will be the new holders of the record by reprising as **Charles Xavier**/**Prof. X**, **Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto** and **Scott Summers/Cyclops** respectively in ***Avengers:Doomsday on*** Dec 18, 2026 (**26** years, 5 months and 6 days after ***X-Men*** premiere)

Rebecca Romijn (mentioned in the cast announcement) might also join the 3 if she reprises as Raven/Mystique in Doomsday.

Commentaires

lI-HarteKante-Il2026-01-06 18:38

Hugh Jackman will apear in Doomsday or at least in Secret Wars. Same with Tobey.

BatmanForever232026-01-06 18:45

Tobey's Spider-Man debuted after X-Men though, so it doesn't really matter in this context.

Eddfan362026-01-06 23:26

Really? I watched both in theaters thats crazy to know.

BatmanForever232026-01-07 00:14

They were 2 years apart... X-Men came out in 2000, Spider-Man 2 years later.

dfpw2026-01-07 02:17

My brain literally went "well yeah that's spider-man 2, what about the first one"

BatmanForever232026-01-07 10:49

Spider-Man 2 came out in 2004, and Spider-Man 3 in 2007.

epsilon18562026-01-06 18:38

Pretty crazy that he'll be more recognized as Professor X than captain Picard

GiveMeSomeSunshine32026-01-06 18:53

There's a generation which remembers him as Picard only because of the face-palm meme since they haven't watched a single episode.

arkhamcreedsolid2026-01-06 20:05

I’m of that generation, however when I was 19, I did watch the entire first season of TNG out of curiosity…..I couldn’t tell you a single element or plot point. It didn’t retain in my memory at all.

Dissidence8022026-01-06 20:25

To be fair, TNG didn't really hit its stride u tile Season 3 (most Trek series do the same)

Markus28222026-01-06 20:49

That’s kinda ridiculous if true. Imagine if the MCU wasn’t good at all until like civil war. Shows and movies need to have very little time to get good imo

LTM4382026-01-06 21:05

Well, see, back in the days before streaming, we had this little thing called patience...

Jabarles2026-01-06 21:18

Eh it’s not a bad thing to expect shows to have quality first couple seasons and respect the viewer’s time. People are busy and there are way too many good shows available to watch these days for people to sit through a poor first 1-2 seasons.

LTM4382026-01-06 21:57

Yeah, but if we had that philosophy back in the 90s, Seinfeld would've gotten canned like, three episodes in.

Markus28222026-01-06 22:22

Do you really think 3 episodes is comparable to nearly 50? Genuine question. Because that last example you defended was 48 episodes which is night and day compared to 3. I can wait 3, maybe up to 6 depending on the show. 50 is ridiculous

LTM4382026-01-06 22:56

Kid, how old are you? Because I gotta tell ya, this level of presumption? It's not fun to look at.

venturboy2026-01-06 22:04

I think there's a difference between having a quality first season and being a first class, award winning show from episode one. Plenty of shows have a first season completely written, and then the actors start bouncing off of each other in unexpected ways, certain things land and others don't, and the show recalibrates to improve significantly by season two. TNG, as mentioned, took some time.

Other ones I can think of that stand out are Community, Parks & Rec, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, and the US Office. IASIP was funny in season one, but the show didn't hit the gas until Danny DeVito joined in season 2. Likewise, season one of Community had Troy and Pierce paired up as an odd couple comedy duo, only for the staff to realize that Troy and Abed had much better comedic chemistry. They only started really using that energy in season two.

I really wish in the streaming era that shows would get at least two seasons to succeed before getting the axe. I don't expect anyone to commit to watching two seasons if they're not into the show, but imagine if NBC had cancelled Parks & Rec because season one had a lower viewership than the algorithm said it needed.

Historical-Owl94562026-01-06 22:35

I totally hear you, but if we look at it from a 'time spent' view - Parks and Rec, The Office and It's Always Sunnys weaker first seasons can be completed in full in roughly two hours, slightly more.

The Next Generation is consistently said to get good after it's second season, Rikers beard and all that, (I know there are some good ones) but ultimately, this comes to like FORTY hours of content before it might 'get good.'

I understand that you're mainly talking about how characters progress across a show to come into its own and how producers should let shows evolve properly but from a viewer perspective - 'it gets good after 'x' amount of hours' can be a hard sell.

Markus28222026-01-06 22:40

I’d like to add I’m willing to be patient with a show, a third of a modern show 2-3 of an 8-10 episode season, or 5-6 of a 20-22 episode season is patience. This person defended waisting 40 hours on 2 bad seasons of a show where basically a third of it sucks.

This isn’t about a show needing to get good immediately, this is about reasonable expectations for a series. 40 hours just isn’t reasonable

phluidity2026-01-06 21:53

It was less patience and more a lack of options. As long as a show got a full season, it seemed like it would get three. Gotta amortize those set costs.

DefNotAShark2026-01-07 03:04

Reality: In the days before streaming you watched whatever was on, whether it sucked or not. The alternative was an infomercial selling kitchen knives.

Ric_Adbur2026-01-07 07:14

That's a shame, because TNG's first season is pretty bad. It gets a *lot* better after that.

steelballspin2026-01-06 20:38

Captain

Jean-Luc Picard of the USS

Enterprise

Parlett3162026-01-06 20:49

Make it so

PicardSaysMakeItSo2026-01-06 22:08

That's my line.

mootallica2026-01-07 01:56

He just kept talking in one looong...

Incrediblyunbrokensentencemovingfrom topictotopicsothatnoonehadachanceto
interruptitwasreallyquitehypnotic (notic, notic, notic...)

Powersoutdotcom2026-01-06 22:06

Brutal. How many lights are there?

Coyote_Shepherd2026-01-06 19:28

And strangely enough there's a generation that will only know Rebecca as being the first officer on the first Enterprise.

Also I really hope they work Jerry into a scene with her because of that one time that [he dressed up as Mystique at a Comic-Con](https://www.instagram.com/p/DHsNLSZxXrV/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link&igsh=MzRlODBiNWFlZA==).

SexyWampa2026-01-06 19:35

That's Gurney Halleck buddy...

Pr0xyWarrior2026-01-06 20:29

That’s a funny way to spell King Claudius/King Lear/Othello/Macbeth/Shylock/Prospero.

Filthy_Joey2026-01-06 20:03

Who?

Puzzled-Horse2792026-01-06 21:07

That seems normal to me.

X-Men > Star Trek

LiteralTP2026-01-06 21:28

I know him from American Dad lol

No_Professional_89922026-01-06 18:44

Only because they REFUSE to give us another Blade.

It's EASY money they could make but NO.

alexjimithing2026-01-06 18:47

Another Wesley Snipes-led Blade would not do well lol

No_Professional_89922026-01-06 22:03

Yet the hype was there when he was Initially in talks to play the role.

BlackLeader702026-01-06 19:11

I really hope they get a horror director who wants to branch out to direct the next Blade. It needs to scare me not just have Blade slicing up vampires for two hours…not that I wouldn’t watch that too.

No-Drop-74352026-01-06 19:19

We were supposed to get one by 2025, as shown by Marvel Zombies

Mourya232026-01-06 19:51

Gotta feel bad for mahershalla ali as well. Guy is an amazing performer, has the looks and charisma..He kept on waiting for them yet they wont. Easy Money man.

Stevenwave2026-01-06 18:53

![gif](giphy|l0Iy7k21Sw2LUkDkc)

Michael Keaton as Batman at 34 years (if we allow some distinguished competition)

Naive_Nerve53712026-01-06 19:13

Warren Beatty’s Dick Tracy slides in at 33 years, he played Dick Tracy in the 1990 movie, then again in 2010 and once more in 2023. The last two appearances were him playing Dick Tracy being interviewed in 30 minute specials, the bare minimum Beatty has to do to keep the rights locked up.

But technically he’s been Dick Tracy with a 33 year gap

GiveMeSomeSunshine32026-01-06 19:15

"Marvel" character lol

Stevenwave2026-01-06 20:31

![gif](giphy|2XflxzsPhNKtHYXpMzu)

Heisenburgo2026-01-07 06:28

What, you never heard of [Bruce Wayne, Agent of SHIELD?](https://marvel.fandom.com/wiki/Bruce_Wayne_\(Earth-9602\))

WutangCMD2026-01-06 19:26

Distinguished Competition

DC

Heh.

Cypher_862026-01-06 23:28

If we go down that path, Mark Hamill currently has 48 years as Luke Skywalker.

I can't think of anyone who has a longer tenure as a single character?

jam112492026-01-07 00:43

I figured that British soaps would be stiff competition here, William Roache has apparently been playing Ken Barlow in *Coronation Street* since its first episode in 1960 until today, more or less continuously.

If we allow *radio* soaps, Patricia Greene has been playing Jill Archer since 1957 in *The Archers*, being basically 69 continuous years in the role.

AblePhase2026-01-07 00:53

Nice

Cypher_862026-01-07 06:22

Fun fact that Patrick Stewart's first role was Coronation Street in 1967.

That this is 20 years before Picard - [https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ko6G-f6ke8](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ko6G-f6ke8)

cvc752026-01-07 03:28

William Russell as Doctor Who companion Ian Chesterton, 1963 to 2022 although it was just a short guest appearance in the 2022 special.

MissingLink1012026-01-06 18:54

I'd be surprised if JK Simmons doesn't take back the record in a future Spider-Man film

Spirited_Repair48512026-01-06 19:03

Or randomly in Doomsday:

"DOOMSIE I WILL HELP YOU OUT, IF YOU GIVE ME PICTURES OF SPIDERMAN!'

FX1142026-01-06 19:21

Spider-Man came out after X-Men, so he'd have to do something later.

garyflopper2026-01-06 20:44

What if J.K. Simmons went back in time in order to appear in the first Blade movie? What then?

TheHatMan252026-01-07 19:05

Little-known fact, J K Simmons actually invented a time machine and went back to convince Stan Lee to base the journalist character in his new 'Spider-Man' comic on him.

belladonnagilkey2026-01-06 19:48

DOOM acquiesce to your request, so long as DOOM is allowed to choose the photographer to aid him in the endeavor.

Deal!

DOOM hereby chooses PETER PARKER to aid hin in taking photos of the SPIDER-MAN.

mBrooks-2026-01-06 22:06

I’d watch.

gloubenterder2026-01-06 22:27

I seem to recall an episode of *Spider-Man* (1981) with that plot.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_DrQ5SteUmE

moonknightcrawler2026-01-06 19:06

These guys have a bit of an advantage by virtue of coming out 2 years earlier than the first Spider-Man

No-Drop-74352026-01-06 19:18

The Sony deal requires them to make a Spiderman movie every few years. You will see JK Simmons a lot more as JJJ

ipostatrandom2026-01-06 21:26

They already made several films without him.

MissingLink1012026-01-06 22:23

Yeah but he's been in the last 2 Holland ones and will probably pop up again in the next ones even in a brief scene

CactusJack132026-01-07 08:21

I really want him to be somewhat responsible for Scorpion getting his suit. That would make my heart happy

two2teps2026-01-06 21:09

Like the the one coming out later this year?

MissingLink1012026-01-06 22:21

Well Spiderman 1 came out 2 years after X-Men 1 so it would have to be another one a couple of years after Doomsday with him in it

iuseemojionreddit2026-01-07 02:19

![gif](giphy|u31fedwl4J7G0)

unsupported2026-01-08 06:34

![gif](giphy|xT5LMtiy2pBKjrO74I)

GiveMeSomeSunshine32026-01-06 18:56

Forgot to mention their years:

Tobey Maguire, J.K. Simmons and Willem Dafoe as Peter Parker/Spider-Man, J.Jonah Jameson and Norman Osborn/Green Goblin (19 years between Spider-Man and NWH)

TDStarchild2026-01-06 18:59

I wouldn’t count on that just yet. Snipes could easily show up too

Algae_Mission2026-01-06 19:01

Watch Snipes break that record yet again in Secret Wars.

GiveMeSomeSunshine32026-01-06 19:30

coz "There's only one Blade and there's only ever gonna be one Blade".

LnStrngr2026-01-06 19:09

Assuming there is no Snipes surprise cameo.

BigTuna08902026-01-06 19:23

There’s only been one Blade. There’s only gonna be one Blade.

Redditeer282026-01-06 19:48

There's been 2.

badhombre132026-01-06 20:51

it's the same Blade, just a different actor so the "only one Blade" is still technically correct and that's the best kind of correct

BobTheFettt2026-01-07 02:41

No the blade in Marvel zombies was supposed to be the new Mahershala Blade wasn't it?

badhombre132026-01-07 02:53

I will choose to ignore that as it undoes my previous statement.

Heisenburgo2026-01-07 06:26

That version of him in the Zombies show wasn't actually voiced by Ali I think, but he does have his likeness. It's weird cause they clearly gave him the Moon Knight mantle in expectation that his mainline film version would have already been introduced by the time the show came out, but that didn't happen so Blade's big debut is now in some spin-off animated show, without the same actor, and where he has a completely separate hero's identity...

[deleted]2026-01-07 11:49

True on MZ, however he is still credited in Eternals as Blade

SilkyLlama2026-01-07 03:40

Nobody remembers the Sticky Fingaz Blade???

rohithkumarsp2026-01-06 19:19

'Till Your 90s

![gif](giphy|gKg1rQr9rojRXLxu2g)

Joshdabozz2026-01-06 19:22

You do realize Rebecca Romijn has been confirmed to be in doomsday for a year ATP right?

GiveMeSomeSunshine32026-01-06 19:33

Yeah but we haven't seen her official footage yet. She'll obviously be joining these 3 in this record.

chronos_77342026-01-07 00:45

In Star Trek Strange New Worlds interview she said that she already filmed her scenes. That interview was 2/3 months ago.

Celcius_872026-01-06 19:24

Anyone have a link to this cast announcement?

Spleenzorio2026-01-06 19:25

[yep](https://youtu.be/kH1XlwHQv9o?si=6FHQeGcMN6PLGt2V)

Celcius_872026-01-06 19:29

Thanks!

phantom_avenger2026-01-06 19:25

They will literally keep getting Patrick and Ian to play these roles until they’re 90!

They’re nearly at that mark!

Bozlogic2026-01-06 20:43

Woahhh Deadpool called it!

NaiRad10002026-01-06 19:29

The way Ian looks makes me think it may be more of a cameo

HenryOnYt12026-01-06 19:55

Nope, since Shang-Chi's actor confirmed he shared scenes with Magneto and Professor X, also Ian Mckellen was a part of the main cast announcement

Ozryela2026-01-06 20:55

\> also Ian Mckellen was apart of the main cast announcement

PSA: "apart" means the opposite of "a part". Make sure you use the correct one in your sentences!

MONGED4LIFE2026-01-06 21:01

With the size of the cast most of them will probably feel that way

theknyte2026-01-06 19:59

Calling it now:

The title is stolen by complete surprise when Dolph Lundgren's Punisher shows up in Secret Wars.

Keanu_Norris2026-01-06 20:54

What about the master of quack-fu

![gif](giphy|kSaTvx8iaUTPkhANBz)

ipostatrandom2026-01-06 21:28

I suppose no one of the 1940s Captain America Serial is still alive?

Keanu_Norris2026-01-06 21:32

Unfortunately no, but the main actress (I forget her name) only died in 2017, so she theoretically could have watched the whole Chris Evans Cap trilogy and I think that’s cool

ipostatrandom2026-01-06 21:39

That is cool! She could've played elder Peggy!

WhyTheMahoska2026-01-06 22:07

Hasselhoff Nick Fury or we riot

theknyte2026-01-06 22:53

Dolph would still win. "The Punisher" came out in 1989.

"Nick Fury: Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D." came out in 1998. Same year as the first Blade movie.

psycholepzy2026-01-06 23:57

Get Reb Brown as Cap (1979) back.

pokemontrainerred932026-01-07 00:15

Bring back Nicholas Hammond's Spider-Man (1977) as well.

SirBing962026-01-06 20:10

Ngl I didn’t know that was Magneto. It was so quick and a bit dark, I couldn’t tell lol

0rtmo2026-01-06 20:11

so excited to see them back!!

NGGKroze2026-01-06 20:31

Isn't Howard The Duck Holding the record - Howard The Duck (1968) and Endgame (2019) :D If you count What IF - then 1986 - 2024 - a bit more than 38 years.

The_Reddit_Guy_22026-01-06 20:36

But they aren’t played by the same actor I don’t think so it doesn’t count?

egomann2026-01-06 20:38

You forgot Garrett Morris

silent_omega0672026-01-06 20:44

iam tired boss.

Kevin fiege: one last time.

eagc72026-01-06 20:45

Then Wesley shows up in Secret Wars

12kkarmagotbanned2026-01-06 20:47

Which version of those X-men are the ones in the trailer? So I can know which movies to watch.

No-Reason47932026-01-06 21:02

Wild to think that Stewart is 85 and McKellen 86

koenr_982026-01-06 21:12

Sorry, I am more impressed by someone that had an active caracter that they play for a long time.

By this logic you can play a caracter in 1 movie and by some sort of nostalgia period like now you reprise the role 30 years later. Et voila, you have one of the longest careers in live action comics.

Wolverine did reprise his role many times in his time as Wolverine. Blade made 3 movies and now has a 'long' career as Marvel hero....

Snipes played Blade between 1998 and 2004. That is 6 years. Than 20 years later he played Blade again. I do not count that as 26 years being Blade.

Hugh Jackman has been Wolverine for 25 years. Longest period we did not see him in that role was 7 years. That could have been 6 years since they have some deleted scenes with him for Deadpool 2.

caniuserealname2026-01-07 10:18

To be fair, Patrick Steward has at biggest a 5 year gap between roles, between Logan in 2017 and Doctor Strange 2 in 2022.

_IratePirate_2026-01-06 21:15

That shot of Cyclops is so fucking sick. I’d watch the movie for that alone

psycholepzy2026-01-06 23:58

Call back to Astonishing X-Men 8

Ronenthelich2026-01-07 02:27

I will watch the movie for that alone.

RauloGonzalez2026-01-07 03:52

James marsden is the perfect casting for cyclops

togashisbackpain2026-01-07 13:02

That didnt amount to much with how under utilized he was

GardenStateKing2026-01-07 19:40

I believe in my boy

![gif](giphy|Dj8NIuXppqHAY)

Truthhurts10172026-01-08 01:22

I honestly would like a full cyclops movie. I really like his character, his character design and his leadership capabilities. It’s so many ways you can tell his story as well whether it’s a backstory type of thing, a movie based around him and Jean, a movie based around the summers family, characters like cable, X-man, and Mr. Sinister are connected to him, he got brothers like Havok and Vulcan, his dads story. Cyclops is cool as hell to me sorry for the rant bro.

_IratePirate_2026-01-08 03:12

I 100% agree with you bro, no need to apologize. Cyclops cool af

stargator32026-01-06 21:33

This is a fun stat, but Marsden getting credit for “longest career playing a Marvel character” is hilarious given how little screentime he’s had over the years and the massive gaps between films. I mean I’m all for bringing him back, but he isn’t really playing his character every three years like Stewart or Jackman. His last non-cameo appearance as Cyclops was literally twenty years ago, and he was barely in that one too.

TheCaramelMan2026-01-06 21:50

Do we think the “leaked” cast photo is real now then given now that we got an official look at

JBTriple2026-01-06 21:53

I don't know why people keep phrasing it like this. It's not a "long career as a Marvel character", and they haven't "been playing x character for 25 years", it's just the time between their first and last appearances.

It's not like, say, Steve Blum as Wolverine, James Mathis as Black Panther, or Fred Tatasciore as the Hulk, where they've been actively playing their role throughout that time.

Bread-Man92026-01-07 02:29

Yeah I’ve found that odd too. Like for Wolverine, Jackman didn’t touch the character from 2018-2023. He was done. So if he comes back in Doomsday and/or Secret Wars, it’d have been 26-27 years since he debuted as Wolverine, not that he’s played him for 26-27 years straight. I hope that made some sense

z4guy2026-01-06 21:54

I'm most impressed by Hugh Jackson's feat. He's been at the forefront more than any of the others on this list. He's been consistent and his role is much more demanding physically, even at the age of 57.

And I can see him holding the all-time record if he plays the role well into the Old Man Logan storylines. It's possible Chris Hemsworth could play Thor well into his 60s-70s as Old King Thor too.

StoneGoldX2026-01-06 21:59

Gonna call bs on all that. Ferrigno started as the Hulk in 1977. Voiced him through Age of Ultron in 2015. Not going to do the days math, but 28 years playing the character.

caniuserealname2026-01-07 10:24

You don't have to go that far, especially since it starts getting messy with him only really providing supplemental voicework.

You can take his last solid appearance, 2008s the incredible hulk, since he unambiguously provided both voice and performance of the hulk character, and that still puts him at 31 years.

enricopena2026-01-06 22:02

I’m worried that Cyclops is going to die quickly like Black Bolt.

EspyOwner2026-01-07 02:03

It's likely that all three of these actors die in this movie. It will probably be a scene in which they're bravely defending the main universe, or in their universe's origin scene in the movie. Kind of like DoFP's first few scenes, showing they're fighting horror movie sentinels in the future before the relevant bits get thrown in.

MajorTurn68902026-01-06 22:18

I genuinely didnt know X-Men came out before Blade

Smurfeggs422026-01-06 22:54

This is going to be one of the beat ovoes on a very long time

artourtex2026-01-06 23:00

26 years is crazy, they’ve been playing these characters since I was 10 years old.

It’s just a few years shy of being the same time span between A New Hope and Revenge of the Sith.

Enough-Celery34862026-01-06 23:10

Hugh Jackman never had that record though as he was in the same movie as Wesley Snipes' Blade

neodraykl2026-01-06 23:23

Come Secret Wars, Lou Ferrigno is gonna swoop in and eat the record's lunch.

Classic_Bass_18242026-01-07 00:51

Did they grab Ian McKellen off the street wth