Avengers: Doomsday’s Mystique reveal leaves MCU fans cold over divisive design

It’s hardly a Marvel trailer without someone grumbling on the internet, and this time it’s Mystique in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday getting the spotlight — but not for the reasons Marvel probably wanted. The mutant’s new look has landed with a bit of a thud in certain corners of fandom, and fans are not holding back about that wig.

'Avengers: Doomsday' lands in cinemas 18 December 2026.

Mystique's Hairdo Drama

So, the fuss is all about Mystique’s updated design. In the Doomsday trailer, she's kitted out in a white X-Men suit, but it’s the shorter, very obviously styled red hair (read: new wig) that’s ruffled feathers. Rebecca Romijn is back playing Mystique, marking her return after those original X-Men films from way back when — a nice bit of continuity, at least. But you wouldn’t know it by some of these reactions.

• @camschlittler took things to the extreme: 'whoever is responsible mystiques wig needs to be fired and sent to prison for life.' Not exactly mincing words, that one.
• @TBWSHooey reckons Marvel should’ve just given Mystique the same longer crop as Yelena, just dyed red. Their take: 'Mystique your barber fucked your shit up BAD.'
• @pewiot suggested that if Romijn didn't flag up the wig to the production team for a touch-up, she should have: 'the wig needs a better styling.' The final verdict? 'A mess.'

Romijn herself has shared horror stories in the past about the brutal make-up routine involved in transforming for the X-Men films, so if anyone knows wig pain, she does. Despite this, not everyone’s furious about the Doomsday look: Twitter stalwart Cryptic HD Quality argues the rushed promotional material made things look worse than they are, and that Mystique appears 'a lot better here' in the actual trailer, as opposed to those early leaked character shots which, to be fair, did her no favours.

Blast From the X-Men Past

It’s not just Romijn making a return. James Marsden is back as Cyclops, and they’re teaming up with proper old guard: Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, and Alan Cumming as Professor X, Magneto, and Nightcrawler. That’s the roster everyone seemed to want back in 2006. Add Channing Tatum’s Gambit (fresh from Deadpool & Wolverine) to the line-up, and there’s a strange kind of nostalgia to all of this among the hair complaints.

And yes, after Romijn, Jennifer Lawrence wore the Mystique blue for a run of films, but Marvel reportedly have their eye on Margot Robbie for future X-Men projects, so this may be Romijn’s last outing as the mutant shapeshifter.