Ian McKellen Debuts Avengers: Doomsday Footage at Rome’s Open-Air Cinema

On 15 June 2026, Sir Ian McKellen addressed a crowd of roughly 2,000 film-fans at the Cinema in Piazza festival in Rome. He presented advance footage of his appearance in *Avengers: Doomsday*, the 39th Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) feature slated for a December 2026 release. The scene he described involves his character, Professor X, being instructed to “destroy New Jersey” and, at McKellen’s suggestion, to shout “Mar-a-Lago!” while portraying fury.

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*Avengers: Doomsday* reunites the X-Men, portrayed by McKellen and Sir Patrick Stewart, with the broader MCU under the direction of Anthony and Joe Russo. The Russo brothers previously directed *Avengers: Endgame* (2019), which earned $2.8 billion worldwide and ranks as the second-highest-grossing film of all time. McKellen, 87, has experienced a career resurgence after a 2024 stage injury, earning praise for Steven Soderbergh’s *The Christophers* and participating in a video-stage installation in New York.

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• Sir Ian McKellen – Actor, portraying Professor X in *Avengers: Doomsday* and Gandalf in the forthcoming *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum*.

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• Anthony and Joe Russo – Directors of *Avengers: Doomsday* and *Avengers: Endgame*.

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• Piccolo America Foundation – Organizer of the Cinema in Piazza festival, a free series of open-air screenings founded by activists in 2012.

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• Peter Jackson – Producer of *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum*.

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• Andy Serkis – Director of the same LOTR project and performer of Gollum.

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• 15 June 2026 – McKellen’s Rome appearance and preview screening.

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• December 2026 – Planned theatrical release of *Avengers: Doomsday*.

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• Late June 2026 – McKellen scheduled to travel to New Zealand for filming as Gandalf.

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• Audience size at Rome event: ~2,000 attendees.

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• *Avengers: Endgame* box-office: $2.8 billion.

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• *Avengers: Doomsday* marks the 39th entry in the MCU series.

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McKellen explained that the Russo brothers asked him to convey “more fury” for the destruction scene, prompting him to shout “Mar-a-Lago!” as a verbal cue. He described the upcoming LOTR film as “going to tell a story that I don’t think Tolkien wrote,” indicating a departure from the original literary narrative. In addition, McKellen referenced his recent activism, noting participation in a march against the criminalisation of LGBTQ+ people in Commonwealth nations.

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The festival, organized by the Piccolo America Foundation, occupies an abandoned cinema reclaimed in 2012 to oppose gentrification. It offers free screenings and Q&A sessions, featuring other stars such as Edgar Wright and Léa Seydoux.

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The inclusion of a “Mar-a-Lago” reference links a blockbuster franchise to contemporary political discourse, while McKellen’s dual involvement in Marvel and Tolkien adaptations underscores the fluidity of franchise casting. His public activism further situates the event within broader social debates.

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• “they got me at one point to destroy New Jersey” — Sir Ian McKellen, Actor

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• “told me to look more furious: make it look as if you hate what you’re destroying. So I stood there and I shouted: ‘Mar-a-Lago!’” — Sir Ian McKellen, Actor

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• “I was in love with him. We held hands through the whole film.” — Sir Ian McKellen, Actor (referring to Jacques Tati’s *Monsieur Hulot’s Holiday*)

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• “going to tell a story that I don’t think Tolkien wrote” — Sir Ian McKellen, Actor

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*Avengers: Doomsday* will open worldwide in December 2026. Production for *The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum* proceeds in New Zealand later this month, with McKellen slated to reprise Gandalf under Andy Serkis’s direction.

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