Famke Janssen has a bone to pick with Marvel.
Speaking to Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 this month, the 61-year-old Dutch actress said the legacy company ‘made a mistake’ by not inviting her to return as Jean Grey in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday.
‘I am so bad at keeping secrets that I always say to everyone I’m the worst actor in the world. It’s all on my face. You right away will read it,’ she prefaced.
‘I think they made a mistake, but hey, who am I? I’m just a little me who thinks that,’ the star added.
Janssen initially starred as Jean Grey, aka Phoenix, in 2000’s X-Men.
She went on to reprise the character in X2: X-Men United (2003) and X-Men: The Last Stand (2006).
Famke Janssen, known for her role as Jean Grey in multiple Marvel films, has a bone to pick with the legacy company; pictured in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand
Speaking to Nerdtropolis at Spacecon 2026 this month, the 61-year-old Dutch actress said Marvel ‘made a mistake’ by not inviting her to return as Jean Grey in the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday; pictured in June 2025
She also made cameos in 2013’s The Wolverine and 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Janssen is notably missing from Doomsday, which will see her former co-stars including James Marsden as Cyclops, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, and Kelsey Grammer as Beast all make comebacks.
Patrick Stewart will also reprise the character Charles Xavier and Alan Cumming will once again transform into Nightcrawler.
Janssen previously said in an October 2025 that she’s always asked about the future of Jean Grey in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
She told Entertainment Weekly, ‘It’s interesting. I didn’t realize that was such a big part. Every interview I do, that will come up, and of everything I say, that is going to be the only thing that’s gonna be printed.’
The actress mused, ‘I should be flattered, I suppose, that this character has resonated with people.
‘It’s been so long, but it’s nice that people are still talking about her. I’m sure every single time there’s a new movie that they’re doing…like “[Is it] Doomsday?”‘
She predicted, ‘It’ll come up again.’
‘I think they made a mistake, but hey, who am I? I’m just a little me who thinks that,’ she commented; pictured in 2000’s X-Men
Fans were divided last year after Marvel announced the Avenger: Doomsday cast in a livestream
Fans were divided last year after Marvel announced the Avenger: Doomsday cast in a livestream.
Robert Downey Jr will return, not as Iron Man, but as Doctor Doom – the villain of the forthcoming film.
To the excitement of many, the all-star list included a number of beloved stars, who were originally thought to have already made their final appearances in prior installments and different universes.
However, other fans were left disappointed when some key characters were noticeably absent from the lengthy list of returning cast members.
Some moviegoers were excited at the thought of the original X-Men from the Foxverse returning for the movie, but were confused about why fan-favorite characters like Spider-Man, the Hulk, Wolverine and Deadpool were left out of the mix.
Some wondered why big names such as Tom Holland, Mark Ruffalo, Benedict Cumberbatch and Brie Larson among many others were left off the cast list, speculating they would make a surprise appearance or be the leads in the follow-up movie, Avengers: Secret Wars.
And others were once again saddened by Elizabeth Olsen’s absence from the list.
