Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness made big waves with some of its character inclusions. Perhaps most exciting for fans was the inclusion of Patrick Stewart’s return from the X-Men franchise as Charles Xavier. The inclusion of Professor X marks the first mutant we’ve seen in the MCU, as Disney only more recently acquired the film rights to the X-Men characters.
As a fan favorite in the X-Men movies, as well as his portrayal of the character in Logan, fans were overjoyed at his re-introduction as an alternate universe variant in the Doctor Strange sequel. Stewart himself was a little unsure about returning to the iconic role, but he just teased that there could be more to come. Speaking to Variety, Stewart said:
Charles Xavier? Yeah. There may be [more apperances]. You know, the whole X-Men comic series is so huge, so vast, there might be an opportunity in which he comes back. We’ll see.
Patrick Stewart
Marvel Studios is expected to eventually introduce previous 20th Century Fox-owned characters such as X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four into its Marvel Cinematic Universe. As Stewart mentioned, the X-Men universe is incredibly rich and expansive in the comics, and Charles Xavier is one of the biggest characters in that realm. If the MCU does introduce an MCU live-action Xavier, it does not necessarily mean that he will be portrayed by Stewart. Only time will tell, but the acclaimed actor has put in decades of time with the character, and may not wish to return in a major way. Marvel Studios may also be interested in a younger character or simply starting from scratch.
Source: Variety
