Ever since Patrick Stewart’s unique voice came in the Super Bowl trailer for Marvel Studios’ Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fans have been eagerly awaiting the return – indeed, the resurrection – of Professor Charles Xavier, the role Stewart has played for 17 years. as part of the 20th Century Fox movie franchise.
In Logan’s 2017, Stewart ostensibly says goodbye to Professor X – literally as the protagonist dies. And when Disney bought 20th Century Fox in 2019, it seems to have been the last nail in Stewart’s term in the role, given that the X-Men will now enter the Marvel cinematic universe ready for a full reboot.
But then Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feigi brought the multiverse into the MCU, allowing, among other things, a number of Loki – including alligator Loki and Richard E. Grant Loki – and three different Peter Parkers, played by Toby Maguire, Andrew Garfield and Tom Holland. . If Dr. Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) was to travel through the multiverse, why couldn’t he come across a universe containing Charles Xavier, who looked and sounded as remarkable as Patrick Stewart?
A few weeks after the premiere of the Super Bowl trailer for “Doctor Strange 2”, Stewart confirmed that he starred in the film, and since then Marvel and Disney have further irritated the appearance of the actor as Professor X with TV commercials that include a shot of the classic giant wheelchair Xavier was used in the comics and animated television series X-Men in the 1990s.
So when Diversity talking to Stewart about the finale of season 2 of his Paramount + series “Star Trek: Picard” – in which the 81-year-old actor reconsiders his other iconic role – would not resist asking him to return to play Xavier once again. And, as Stewart hinted, it may not be the last time.
Also, don’t worry: this interview doesn’t contain spoilers for “Doctor Strange 2” that Disney has no longer included in its marketing for the film.
I saw you at the premiere of “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness” in Los Angeles on Monday. It’s so fascinating that you’re reviewing two major roles from your past – Jean-Luc Picard and Charles Xavier – in the same week, at least while the audience is experiencing them. What was it like for you to visit Professor X again?
Well, it was a day and a half job. I was in a very different environment from the one I was in, in one of the X-Men movies. And just like Picard, I was grateful for him because I could think refreshingly about who he was and how he treated others. Just like Star Trek: Picard, I was a little unsure at first if it was a sensible thing to do. Given that Logan was such a powerful film, we watched it die at the hands of Hugh Jackman. So when he saw [“Doctor Strange 2”] on Monday night I am very happy and very proud to have been a part of this.
How was it for you to watch the movie?
Well, I had to read a lot and look at comics and other things. I’ve never been this comic book man. And even when I was a kid, I read books instead of comics. I was a stranger, and in fact, much of what I saw on Monday night, I had to work hard to put these things together. Because you can hear that the audience knows exactly what the actors’ characters mean. You remember the laughter when an actor was just muttering a line and the audience was laughing because they knew the context and they knew the story of that expression. And I found it admirable when the audience became part of the film experience.
You are in Charles Xavier’s classic wheelchair, which you have never made before. What was that? It’s so big!
Yes! It was very different from the Porsche I drove in the movies. It was a very fast, very manipulative wheelchair. And when I first saw the monster I was going to drive in this, I was scared. But it was good. It worked very well. I had to stop him before the stairs. That was my only concern, that somehow I would get out of control and go down the stairs in this thing! But it was a very, very different world from the X-Men movies, with references here and there, of course. But I was very, very happy.
You knew that when Star Trek: Picard ended Season 3, you ended that role. But is there a chance to play Xavier again?
Charles Xavier? Yes. There could be. You know, the whole X-Men comic book series is so huge, so vast, that there may be an opportunity for it to return. We will see.
This interview has been edited and shortened.
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