When James Mangold’s Logan hits theaters on March 3rd, it’ll mark Hugh Jackman’s last time playing the iconic mutant. That much is certain. But it seems that the Aussie won’t be the only one waving goodbye to the X-Men franchise, as his co-star, Patrick Stewart, will be following suit, retiring from the role of Professor Charles Xavier.
Entertainment Weekly reports that the actor, who, oddly enough, teased a possible Deadpool 2 cameo earlier today, announced that Logan will be his last time dabbling in the superhero franchise, saying that just like Jackman, he’s “done, too.”
“A week ago, Friday night in Berlin, the three of us sat, watching the movie,” said Stewart. “And I was so moved by it, much more moved than I had been the first time of seeing it. Maybe it was the company of these two guys, but the movie ended and — this is an admission — but at one point [Hugh] reached out, and he took my hand in those last few minutes, and I saw him go [mimes wiping a tear from his eye] like this, and then I realized I had just done the same thing. Then, the movie ended… and we were going to be taken up on stage, but not until the credits were over.
So, we had some time to sit there and, as I sat there I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie. So, I told [Hugh] that same evening, ‘I’m done too. It’s all over.’”
Having first brought Professor X to life in 2000’s X-Men, Stewart went on to reprise the role another five times, with his seventh appearance as the character being in Logan. It’s a long time to be a part of a franchise, and it’s not surprising that the actor wants out, especially given how old he is now (76). In fact, it wouldn’t be much of a shock if he retired from acting for good in the next couple of years.
Despite the departure of both Jackman and Stewart, there’s no reason at all to worry about the X-Men franchise. With tons of exciting projects in development (Deadpool 2, New Mutants, X-Force and more), there’s plenty to look forward to for fans of all things mutants and you can be sure that Fox will keep the property on the big screen for many years to come.
That being said, it’ll definitely be sad to see both actors go. Thankfully, then, Logan sounds like it’ll give them the sendoff they deserve.
