A new "Big Game" trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has been released, teasing the return of Patrick Stewart to the Marvel Universe. With many fans hearing Stewart's voice in the new trailer, the excitement is high for the actor's return opposite Benedict Cumberbatch's Doctor Strange. However, this will be Stewart's first debut in the MCU and many are asking if Stewart will be reprising his role as the X-Men's Professor X, some new character, or someone in between thanks to the complexity that is the multiverse.

While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is a film about which fans still "know frighteningly little"it has been teased that the multiversal explorations Stephen Strange began in Spider-Man: No Way Home will continue in this upcoming sequel. Featuring current Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Wanda Maximoff as the official Scarlet Witch after WandaVision, and newcomer America Chavez, the multiverse will explode into chaos, forcing Strange and his allies to contain the damage he's seemingly responsible for.

Related: Why There Are Multiple Doctor Stranges In The Multiverse Of Madness

As such, this new trailer sees Doctor Strange taken into custody after being told that his "desecration of reality will not go unpunished" by Karl Mordo. Escorted by robots who very much resemble Ultron, Strange stands before a collection of seats in what looks to be a tribunal. While viewers aren't shown who's sitting in said seats, one of their voices heard belongs to actor Patrick Stewart: "we should tell him the truth". This is had led many to believe that Stewart will be returning as Professor Charles Xavier of the X-Men franchise, seeing as how Disney and Marvel have reacquired the rights to the Marvel mutants following their purchase of 20th Century Fox.

Doctor Strange 2 Patrick Stewart Xavier Illuminati

Seeing as how the multiverse creates the narrative means for the MCU and X-Men universes to be bridged, many have looked to Doctor Strange 2 as the film to connect the two long before this new Xavier tease. However, it also's possible that Stewart could be playing a variant of the powerful mutant telepath viewers have yet to encounter, especially given the strong teases and rumors that the MCU's version of the Illuminati will be featured in the film, a collection of Marvel's leading heroes in the comics who work in the shadows to keep the universe safe (of which Xavier was a member).

Regardless of who Patrick Stewart might be playing in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it's clear that the Marvel hype train has truly begun by teasing his role, especially given his pre-existing Marvel ties to such a major X-Men character. As such, the upcoming Doctor Strange sequel is already proving itself as one of the most anticipated and important films in the MCU's Phase 4 when it releases on May 6th.

More: Doctor Strange 2 Is Hiding Its True Villain - Theory Explained

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