With the release of Logan just around the corner, it signifies what is likely the end of an era for Hugh Jackman’s portrayal of the Wolverine character. It’s also the first R-rated property featuring Jackman’s Wolverine, which was green lit after the highly successful Deadpool film, starring Ryan Reynolds. This means that it will more than likely be the bloodiest and most violent adaptation of the character, essentially allowing Jackman and director James Mangold (who also directed 2013’s The Wolverine) free reign to explore the more violent aspects of the comic book character.
Naturally, with Jackman’s departure imminent, it’s presumably only a matter of time before other actors long associated with the X-Men franchise follow his example. With that in mind, there’s one actor who fans can definitively rule out as a possibility of leaving the series anytime soon and that man is none other than Professor Charles Xavier himself, Patrick Stewart.
While speaking with ET about Logan, Stewart revealed that while Jackman may be ready to call it quits, he has no such interest in leaving X-Men. This contradicts somewhat what he said last year that it was “probably” the end for him as Xavier, but time certainly could have changed the actor’s mind about the future. For Stewart’s full thoughts on his future with X-Men, read below:
"Hugh has raised the flag that says goodbye. I haven’t done that yet."
With the recent reveal that X-Men: Supernova is the next film in the main franchise and that it will presumably center around Xavier and his X-Men battling against Jean Grey’s Dark Phoenix, it’s easy to imagine Stewart’s Xavier at least making an appearance somewhere in the film. Though whether that eventually happens is anyone’s guess, but seeing as the actor did not appear in X-Men: Apocalypse and that he still seems very interested in continuing on with the franchise, it will feel like a missed opportunity if Stewart doesn’t pop up in some capacity.
Either way, this is great news for fans who are still not quite over the fact that Logan is more than likely the end of Jackman’s Wolverine. And with the X-Men franchise continually expanding with spinoffs, like the aforementioned Deadpool, and even branching out into the long form world of television with shows like Legion and an untitled series still to come, there are certainly plenty of potential future opportunities in which Stewart could reprise his role as Professor Xavier.
Still, as well-regarded as Stewart’s performance has been as the character, there are certainly a large amount of fans out there hoping for the X-Men to leave Fox and join the rest of the superheroes over at Marvel Studios and their cinematic universe. Given the enormous success of Deadpool and the positive early buzz surrounding Logan, this seems unlikely to happen anytime soon. This will especially be true should Logan prove to be another box office hit for Fox, which many predict will be the case.
Next: Logan: What Happened to the Mutants?
Source: ET
