When Marvel announced the Avengers: Doomsday cast earlier this year, there were plenty of surprises for fans to take in. Among the 27 actors confirmed during the record-breaking livestream were some unexpected names, including several players from Fox’s X-Men film series. A handful of these veterans are returning to reprise their characters for (seemingly) the last time before giving way to a younger cast in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot. While we know which X-Men actors are coming back, the mutants’ role in the story is being kept under wraps for now. But the latest comments from another Doomsday star could shed some light on what fans can expect.

In an interview with ComicBook, Marvel star Simu Liu opened up about his role in Doomsday. In particular, he raved about getting the opportunity to work with two of his “childhood heroes” on the film. “My two people I wanted to see my character interact with … I don’t want to say it out loud,” he said. “Truly, childhood heroes of mine. I am sure you can guess who it is. They are the two that make me feel like a little boy. I’m just going to say it. God dammit. The two that make me feel like a little boy are Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart. They are legends.”

With a year to go until Doomsday premieres in theaters, Marvel is keeping things close to the vest right now. The film’s first official teaser serves as an announcement for Chris Evans’ return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as opposed to providing an outline of the plot. This is all to say we don’t have much context for Liu’s latest comments, but they do peel the curtain back a bit, confirming there will be at least one scene where the X-Men cross paths with the Avengers. The bigger question concerns the nature of that meeting. All Liu said is that Shang-Chi gets to interact with Magneto and Professor X. He didn’t say if they are friends or foes.

One of the prevailing theories about Avengers: Doomsday is that it will partially be an X-Men vs. Avengers movie, pitting the two teams against each other as they attempt to sort out whatever multiversal madness is happening. There have been hints that Shang-Chi is part of Sam Wilson’s Avengers team that will be featured in Doomsday, so perhaps this group comes to blows with the X-Men at some point. Doctor Doom’s activities will likely cause incursions across multiple realities, and amidst the confusion, the X-Men and Avengers could see each other as enemies before realizing Doom is the real threat. Perhaps Liu’s interactions with his childhood heroes are part of an action sequence and he trades classic Marvel banter with them.

Another possibility is that the X-Men and Avengers team up to get an advantage against Doom’s forces. In this scenario, Shang-Chi could be part of a strategizing session where all the heroes bounce ideas off each other while formulating a plan. Regardless of the dynamic, it will be entertaining to watch the Avengers and X-Men play off each other. There’s a meta component to all of this, as it’ll be like watching the superhero genre come full circle. Stewart and McKellen are legends who were there 25 years ago when X-Men helped put comic book adaptations on the map. Now, they’re working alongside the actors who have followed in their footsteps, demonstrating how far these films have come over the decades.

The Avengers films have always featured exciting action and grand spectacle, but a major part of their appeal is simply watching various characters interact with each other. Some of the best moments in these movies are sequences where heroes are just standing in a room talking. With how stacked the Doomsday ensemble is, there are plenty of opportunities for intriguing character pairings, and it’s nice to see the filmmakers didn’t lose sight of that. For years, Fox’s X-Men characters were unable to be part of the MCU, but now, at the end of the Multiverse Saga, these dream interactions can finally come true.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!