X-Men actor James Marsden has reflected on his time as Cyclops and admitted he's surprised by the franchise's success as the original mutant movie approaches its 20th anniversary.
Marsden landed the role of the stoic Scott Summers in Bryan Singer's 2000 movie after Jim Caviezel was forced to drop out due to scheduling conflicts. Along with Sam Raimi's Spider-Man, X-Men was a forerunner of the current boom of superhero movies. Now, Marsden has opened up about what it was like to be part of something so big.
Speaking to CinemaBlend, the Westworld star said he knew X-Men could be a major movie for the studio. "I think we all hoped it would become what it’s become, and we knew it had the power to with the legacy of the X-Men universe," explained Marsden. "They’ve been around since 1962, 1963? And so when we first started, it was 40 years of backstory and superfans. So we knew if we do this right, this could be something forever, for a long, long time."
Marsden went on to reprise his role in X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, with a cameo role in Singer's acclaimed X-Men: Days of Future Past. The 46-year-old handed the baton over to Tye Sheridan for a younger version of the character in X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix.
This much accumulated history seems to surprise Marsden as much as anyone. "I’d hoped, but I did not anticipate that they’d still be making them. I mean, I thought maybe they’d make 4 or 5 of them in its success, but how many have they made now, 10? So it’s kinda crazy and really cool."
It's unclear where the X-Men will go following Dark Phoenix's box office disappointment and Disney's acquisition of Fox. Although Marsden said he'd happily reprise his role as Cyclops for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Kevin Feige has warned the X-Men are still a long way off yet.