James McAvoy Gives ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ a Glowing Review as He Looks Back on Superhero Crossovers
James McAvoy knows a thing or two about superhero ensembles. Across ‘X-Men: First Class’, ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’, ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, ‘Deadpool 2’ and ‘Dark Phoenix’, he played a younger Charles Xavier, becoming one of the defining faces of Fox’s X-Men era.
He has also been open about how much those films mean to him. In past interviews, McAvoy has said he doesn’t see his Marvel work as simple paycheck jobs, and he counts ‘Days of Future Past’ among his better films.
Now he’s sharing his thoughts on the crossover movie that came after his own. Reflecting on the rise of big superhero mashups during a conversation with Josh Horowitz on ‘Happy Sad Confused’, McAvoy offered a simple but enthusiastic verdict on Marvel Studios’ blockbuster: “Infinity War is great.”
McAvoy’s praise came as he discussed the era of cast-and-timeline mashups in comic book movies. He argued that ‘Days of Future Past’ arrived right at the beginning of that trend and pulled it off brilliantly.
That film combined the casts of ‘First Class’ and the original X-Men trilogy through a time-travel story, an approach many fans now see as an early blueprint for later crossovers. ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ took that ambition to an even bigger scale, uniting heroes from across the MCU against a single threat.
The final trailer for ‘AVENGERS: INFINITY WAR’ was released 6 years ago https://t.co/mQGHnYR90N
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McAvoy admitted he had doubts about the X-Men sequel’s direction before filming, worried it was a misstep after ‘First Class’ had gone a different way. He has since said he was wrong, calling the film incredible.
McAvoy’s opinion lines up with how audiences and critics responded to the film. Directed by Anthony and Joe Russo and written by Christopher Markus and Stephen McFeely, ‘Avengers: Infinity War’ was released in the US on April 27, 2018.
It became the first superhero film to gross more than $2 billion worldwide, finishing at about $2.052 billion and ranking as 2018’s highest-grossing film. It opened to $250 million domestically and roughly $630 million globally. Critics praised Josh Brolin’s performance as Thanos, the Russos’ direction, the action, and the film’s dark tone. It also earned an Oscar nomination for Best Visual Effects.
McAvoy’s comments arrive just as the X-Men prepare for their biggest MCU moment yet. Marvel has confirmed that Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Kelsey Grammer and Rebecca Romijn will appear in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, which the Russos are also directing for a December 18 release.
McAvoy isn’t among the confirmed names. He has said he hasn’t been contacted by Kevin Feige about a return, though he isn’t opposed to the idea. Some insiders, including Alex Perez, have suggested the ‘First Class’ cast is unlikely to come back. That remains unverified, and Marvel hasn’t commented on McAvoy’s future.
What makes McAvoy’s praise notable is that he speaks as someone who helped build the template. ‘Days of Future Past’ tackled the challenge of blending multiple casts long before ‘Infinity War’ took that concept across an entire cinematic universe.

His comments suggest he sees the films as part of the same evolution in superhero storytelling. They also show he follows the genre closely, even years after his last X-Men film, ‘Dark Phoenix’.
For fans hoping to see him return as Charles Xavier, his enthusiasm for ‘Infinity War’ and openness to working with Feige offer a sliver of hope. Whether Marvel takes him up on it remains to be seen.
McAvoy’s conversation with Horowitz covered plenty of ground beyond superheroes, including ‘California Schemin”, ‘Split’ and ‘The Chronicles of Narnia’. Still, his praise for ‘Infinity War’ has quickly become one of the most shared moments from the interview among Marvel fans.
Do you agree with James McAvoy that Avengers: Infinity War is one of the greatest superhero crossover movies?
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