Hype levels for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness got kicked up a notch on Super Bowl Sunday. We’d already gotten a good look at what was coming in the trailer attached to Spider-Man: No Way Home, but the more recent trailer hinted that the sequel is living up to its multiversal title.
The biggest news was the shocking reappearance of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. Stewart delivered an iconic performance throughout the Fox X-Men franchise, capping off his tenure with a widely praised turn in Logan. But the multiverse is an infinitely big place, and it appears one version of Charles Xavier sits as part of an interdimensional tribunal.
Stewart recently spoke with Rolling Stone about the upcoming second season of Star Trek: Picard. Towards the end, the interviewer also quizzes him about Professor X’s return, with Stewart responding:
“This is a very delicate area. All I can say to you is we’ll have to see. But bear in mind that Professor Xavier has already died twice. I think he must have some sort of Superman quality.”
Xavier’s first death came via Jean Grey in 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, and his second at the hands of the brainwashed Wolverine clone in Logan. That last one felt quite final, though as Logan takes place in a possible future, there are still many variants of Xavier out there.
Whether this means Stewart will fully reprise the role when the MCU fully introduces their own take on the X-Men is anyone’s guess, though I strongly suspect they’ll recast. However, if Stewart’s Xavier is along for the ride, that opens the door wide open to a ton of classic characters. Could Hugh Jackman really be convinced to strap on the claws one more time? Stranger things have happened…
We’ll know more when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives on May 6.
