Warning: This article contains spoilers for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Patrick Stewart confesses that he was apprehensive about returning to his Professor X role prior to Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Stewart first took on the role of Professor Charles Xavier in 2000's X-Men and has reprised the character multiple times throughout the years, most recently in Multiverse of Madness. The 2011 X-Men reboot saw James McAvoy take over as Charles Xavier, but Stewart would later reprise his role in films like X-Men: Days of Future Past and Logan.
Over the course of his X-Men career, Stewart’s Xavier has been put through the wringer as his character was violently killed in half of his on-screen appearances. However, these deaths didn’t usually last long. After Mystique’s timeline-altering decision in X-Men: Days of Future Past brought Xavier back to life yet again, Professor X still had more tragedy to follow. In what many believed to be Stewart’s final appearance as Xavier, the telepath was one of several X-Men characters who died protecting a younger generation of mutants in Logan.
On account of the apparent finality of his last appearance, Stewart admitted during an interview with Variety that he was unsure about returning to the role. Thankfully, Stewart didn’t let this worry dishearten him as he reprised Professor X once more in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Stewart’s break from the X-Men gave him some new perspectives and allowed him to bring some fresh takes to the character. After seeing the results, Stewart was pleased to be a part of the film in spite of initial concerns. Read his full quote below:
Well, it was a day-and-a-half’s work. I was in a very different environment from the one that I had ever been in, in any of the X-Men movies. And just like Picard, I was grateful for it, because I could think refreshingly about who he was and how he related to others. Just like Star Trek: Picard, I was a little unsure at first if it was a wise thing to do. Given that Logan had been such a powerful movie and we watched him die in Hugh Jackman’s arms. So having seen [Doctor Strange 2] on Monday night, I’m very happy and very proud that I’ve been part of that.
While many of the deaths in superhero movies are undercut by the usually inevitable return of these characters like the X-Men franchise has done before, Logan was praised for showcasing genuine loss. This being said, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness having Stewart return to play Professor X doesn’t necessarily take away from Logan as it brings in a new version of Xavier from a different world based on the 1990s cartoon X-Men: The Animated Series. Despite this distinction, it’s understandable that Stewart would be apprehensive to go back. Still, audiences were ecstatic to hear about his return.
This version of Professor X followed in his predecessors’ footsteps as he was brutally killed by Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. With a myriad of X-Men comic storylines to pick from, it’s not unlikely that a variant of Charles Xavier will show up again as Marvel continues to explore the multiverse. Even so, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness may not have been Stewart's last Xavier performance as, despite his initial uncertainty, the actor recently confessed that he would still be open to returning as Professor X in the future.
Source: Variety
