1
Credit: Fox/MarvelPatrick Stewart, the legendary actor who has portrayed the X-Men founder, Professor Charles Xavier, in seven films over the course of over 20 years, sounds pretty confident that he will reappear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe at some point.
In a recent interview with the Happy Sad Confused podcast, the British actor was asked whether he might appear as Professor X in the upcoming MCU film Deadpool 3. Patrick Stewart revealed that there has apparently been discussion but remained vague on whether it is actually happening, saying, “It has come up, there’s been a process…but the last two to three years have been so difficult with the labor problems and the health problems, COVID, you know…”
Related: Marvel Legend Reflects on MCU Return, “Frustrating and Disappointing”
However, Stewart was quite certain that his character could show up in the MCU at some point, saying, “I have every confidence he’s still around.”
Over the course of his career playing the mentor of the X-Men, Patrick Stewart has seen Professor X die numerous times. He was first apparently killed by Phoenix (Famke Janssen) in X-Men: The Last Stand (2006) but may have survived via telepathic means, as seen in a post-credits scene.
He also seems to have died (or at least on the brink of death) in one of the many branching timelines of X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014), until he is saved from murder via Sentinel by time travel. Professor Xavier definitely died in Logan (2017), stabbed to death by a clone of Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), his sole remaining student. Most recently, Charles Xavier was killed by the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen) in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022) in, arguably, his most brutal death to date.
Here’s a short TikTok of how often Professor X gets killed, just for good measure:
@moviewithmike #professorx deaths in #multiverseofmadness and #xmen
Related: Marvel Studios Announces New ‘X-Men’ Prequel Series
Long story short, Patrick Stewart has ample reason to be sure he will return as Professor X in some future Marvel Studios project, even if he does not appear alongside Hugh Jackman and Ryan Reynolds in Deadpool 3. The film is speculated to feature appearances from numerous X-Men actors from the Fox franchise, so there’s always the possibility, even if the Star Trek actor is cagey about it.
Of course, Professor X was mentioned by name in a post-credits scene of The Marvels (2023), so it’s clear that Marvel has some plans for the character in the future. We might have to wait until Secret Wars to see Professor X alongside Magneto (Ian McKellen or Michael Fassbender version) once again, but it’s bound to happen sooner or later.
What X-Men character do you want to see in the MCU the most? List them off in the comments below!