Rebecca Romijn Had One Question When Asked to Return to “Avengers: Doomsday” as Mystique

The actress had concerns about her intense transformation into the shape-shifting character

NEED TO KNOW

• Rebecca Romijn had one question when she was asked to return to Avengers: Doomsday as the blue-skinned shape-shifter, Mystique
• At San Diego Comic-Con, the actress told Entertainment Tonight how it felt to return to the Avengers world
• Fans got a first look at Avengers: Doomsday when the first trailer was released on July 20

Rebecca Romijn had one concern when returning to the Avengers franchise as the blue-skinned shapeshifter Mystique.

While speaking with Entertainment Tonight at San Diego Comic-Con on Saturday, July 25, the actress, 53, revealed the question she asked when she agreed to reprise the role.

“It’s all been overwhelming and very surreal,” she shared. “It was a surprising call to get. Of course, my first question was about the makeup process. ‘What are we going to do about that?’ It was very long in the original.”

The actress continued, “And, you know, that was with an entirely different studio. So with Marvel Universe, it’s incredible. It was so fun to go back with my old cast and be with the new cast, and it’s all been very surreal.”

Romijn played Mystique in the original X-Men trilogy from 2000 to 2006. Jennifer Lawrence took on a younger version of the character in the prequel films. Romijn’s transformation into Mystique took up to nine hours and involved full-body prosthetics and painting.

It’s been four years since Avengers: Doomsday was first announced, and fans finally got a first glimpse when Marvel released the film’s first trailer on July 20.

The upcoming fifth Avengers movie stars Chris Hemsworth as he reprises his role as Thor and leads the newly assembled team. Together, the group must put aside their histories and differences to face off against the villain Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).

Many new details about the film were announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024, including the new title and villain. It was also announced that Downey Jr., who famously played superhero Iron Man, would return to the MCU as Doctor Doom.

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE’s free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

According to Marvel, Avengers: Doomsday “follows beloved heroes from three distinct universes as they’re set on a deadly collision course and face an existential threat unlike anything they’ve ever encountered.”

In a 2022 interview with ComicBook, Romijn revealed she would “absolutely be open” to becoming Mystique again.

“I don’t know if they would ever want me back,” she said at the time. “I mean, that was quite a few years back when I played that character, but I would love to, yeah, absolutely.”

Romijn also recalled her experience making 2000’s X-Men and the sequels X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand. She also made a cameo appearance in the prequel film X-Men: First Class.

“It was a fantastic franchise to be a part of. I’ll love that cast until the day I die. We had a great time together,” she told ComicBook.