X-Men Star James McAvoy Responds To Avengers: Secret Wars Cameo Rumors

Screen Rant

By Bart Woinski

Published Nov 28, 2022

Young Professor X actor James McAvoy gives a direct but somewhat cryptic answer about his possible appearance in Secret Wars and other MCU films.

X-Men prequel franchise star James McAvoy gives a blunt answer on whether his Professor X will join the MCU in the upcoming saga. McAvoy famously plays the younger version of Patrick Stewart's Professor X for 20th Century Fox's X-Men films, beginning in 2011 with X-Men: First Class. He would appear in the subsequent three sequels, marking his final appearance in the poorly-received Dark Phoenix. Although the X-Men have yet to appear in the MCU, rumors are swirling that McAvoy could appear in Marvel's Avengers: Secret Wars.

The X-Men prequel franchise's James McAvoy finally addresses if his version of Professor X will appear in the MCU. In an extensive interview with GQ Magazine, the men's editorial asks if Marvel head Kevin Feige called McAvoy about a potential role. Before a cryptic answer, McAvoy says he often dismisses similar questions because he believes he needs to move on to other projects. Check out his quote below.

"I've definitely not got the call. And if I did, I would definitely not be telling you."

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If McAvoy does return to his role, he does not seem keen on spoiling any crazy surprises. Marvel stars like Andrew Garfield, Tobey Maguire, and veteran Professor X actor Stewart have kept their surprise appearances under wraps in the big multiverse films Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Of course, McAvoy could have told GQ no and left it there, but instead left a reminder of how tight Marvel tries to be with their secrets.

With Stewart's Professor X, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness viewers already know that his version of the character shows up on Earth-838, an alternate reality of the core MCU. As a member of the Illuminati in that universe, Professor X questions Doctor Strange's sudden appearance, only to die at the hands of the Scarlet Witch. So while it would make sense to see another alternate-reality version of Stewart reprise the X-Men character in future MCU films for consistency, Spider-Man: No Way Home already set a precedent for other physical portrayals of characters existing. In addition, McAvoy is the younger version of Stewart's character anyway, not an entirely different being.

With Marvel introducing Evan Peters, the 20th Century Fox version of Quicksilver, in WandaVision and confirming Kamala Khan as the MCU's first official mutant, the introduction of the X-Men seems like the logical next step. In addition, the mutant super-team plays a pivotal role in the Secret Wars comic, so it makes sense to have the X-Men appear. McAvoy would be the ideal actor to play Professor X, given his popularity with X-Men fans.