James McAvoy has expressed that he is open to returning as X-Men's Charles Xavier in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but only if he feels the story is good. McAvoy first portrayed the X-Men's telepathic leader in X-Men: First Class in 2011, reprising his role in three following sequels and a cameo in Deadpool 2. The actor portrayed a younger version of Patrick Stewart's incarnation of the character, with the two playing past and future versions of Xavier alongside one another in X-Men: Days of Future Past.
McAvoy first made his debut as the X-Men's leader in X-Men: First Class, a prequel to 2000's X-Men, which portrayed a younger Xavier working with Michael Fassbender's Magneto to avert a nuclear war during the Cuban Missile Crisis. McAvoy has since reprised his role in the following films, with his last appearance being in 2019's Dark Phoenix. Following the Disney acquisition of 20th Century Fox, McAvoy discussed the potential of an X-Men/MCU crossover, with the series' differing worlds possibly being incompatible, but has recently expressed his openness to returning to the role in the MCU.
When talking to Comicbook.com about portraying Dream in Audible's The Sandman series, McAvoy was asked whether he would be open to returning to the role of Xavier in the MCU. McAvoy responded by saying he would gladly return, but only if he felt that the writing was good. The actor stated that he is pleased with how Charles' story ended, saying he was particularly pleased with the first two film's stories. However, McAvoy concluded by saying if the writing was good and if he were approached, he'd be open to returning. Check out McAvoy's full answer below:
"I'm all about doing good stuff, and when I got asked to play Charles the first time, it was good stuff. It was good writing, and I was excited. If people offer me good writing, I'm always going to be excited, but I do feel like I've had a good ending with Charles and I got to explore some really good stuff, particularly in the first two movies that I did for him as a character. So if my time is done, I'm happy with the time that I spent and the time that I was given and if good writing comes in and people want to do stuff with me, I'll always be open to that, but it's got to be good."
McAvoy's comments come following fellow Xavier actor, Patrick Stewart, revealing he'd spoken to Marvel about reprising his role. Stewart revealed in January that he had been approached by Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige about joining the MCU, possibly as Charles Xavier, for future projects. Stewart stated he declined the offer due to him feeling that Logan was a good conclusion for his version of the character. Other recent X-Men/MCU teases include Hugh Jackman hinting at a Wolverine return on Instagram, with the actor posting a photo with Feige. WandaVision also contained a nod to 20th Century Fox's movies, casting Evan Peters as an imposter version of Quicksilver/Pietro Maximoff, with the actor having previously portrayed the character in Fox's movies.
With X-Men being one of Marvel's most popular superhero teams, many are interested to see when the characters will debut in the MCU. Many fans have speculated that Eternals will introduce mutants to the franchise, while others have speculated that the multiverse will be how Marvel Studios brings the X-Men into a post-Loki universe, leaving the doorway open for a McAvoy or Stewart reappearance. However, others believe that it would be better to recast the team, bringing in new, fresh takes on the characters rather than rely on what came before. No matter what the answer may be, it appears that it'll be a long wait for mutants to emerge, with no current plans beyond Phase 4 being known by audiences.
Source: Comicbook.com