Rebecca Romijn Reveals the Surprising Perk of Returning to Mystique for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

Marvel’s long-teased mutant takeover is finally coming into focus, and one of the biggest draws is watching Fox’s original ‘X-Men’ stars step into the MCU for the first time. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Alan Cumming and Kelsey Grammer are all suiting back up for ‘Avengers: Doomsday‘, joining forces with heroes from across the Marvel multiverse.

Chief among them is Rebecca Romijn, whose blue-skinned, scale-covered Mystique became one of the most visually demanding roles of early-2000s blockbuster filmmaking. Two decades later, she’s stepping back into the character, and fans have been curious about how the transformation compares to the version they remember from the early 2000s.

During a post-Hall H interview with Entertainment Weekly at Comic-Con, Robert Downey Jr. sat down with Romijn and Grammer to talk about their return to the franchise as former Iron Man and now Doctor Doom actor. Romijn used the moment to reveal just how much easier the process of becoming Mystique has gotten this time around.

Speaking with Entertainment Weekly, Romijn explained that the production wasn’t interested in making actors sit around for hours before they could start shooting. “Apparently, they were no longer interested in waiting for actors to be processed, so it was much faster,” she said.

That’s a dramatic shift from the original ‘X-Men’ trilogy, when Romijn’s call time would often begin around midnight so she could be camera-ready by 9 a.m., with layers of paint and prosthetics covering most of her body. Even with the shorter process this time, she’s previously said that the grueling old routine helped her tap into Mystique’s simmering anger as a persecuted mutant.

The Comic-Con sit-down also touched on the emotional weight of the reunion itself. Downey spoke warmly about having Romijn and Grammer back on set, noting how much their presence energized the rest of the cast, which includes Chris Evans, Pedro Pascal, Paul Rudd, Letitia Wright and David Harbour. Grammer, for his part, reflected on what draws him back to Beast, describing the character’s sense of nobility and respect for all life.

The film’s cast reveal earlier this year confirmed a sprawling ensemble that folds Fox’s mutant universe directly into Marvel’s flagship franchise. Along with Romijn, Stewart, McKellen, Marsden, Cumming and Grammer are all reprising their original ‘X-Men’ roles, while Channing Tatum finally gets to bring Gambit to the big screen after years of false starts.

The first trailer for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ already teased a glimpse of Mystique in action, showing her shapeshifting abilities on full display as she morphs into Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova during a tense confrontation. Exactly how much screen time Mystique will get, and how her storyline connects to the wider battle against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, remains tightly under wraps.

What is clear is that fans are thrilled to see the Fox-era mutants sharing scenes with Marvel’s modern-day heroes, a crossover that once seemed like nothing more than fan-fiction. With filming still underway in the U.K. and a script that Romijn herself has acknowledged wasn’t fully finished as of Comic-Con, there’s still plenty left to learn before ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ arrives in theaters.

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