See James McAvoy Speak Out On Return As Professor X
James McAvoy took time out of his day to answer a fan about whether he was returning as Professor X in an upcoming movie. Watch it here.
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When we first saw the back of a bald man’s head in the latest trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Internet basically exploded at the thought that Professor Charles Xavier would be entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe and setting the stage for The X-Men’s entry into the franchise. Once Patrick Stewart confirmed that yes, that was his famous head and his famous voice, people got even excited for the return of the most powerful psychic mutant in the world. But it also made people remember, isn’t there more than one Professor X out there? And that just led to the inevitable speculation that Professor X (Young Version) might also be showing up in Dr. Strange, so people just straight up asked James McAvoy. Here’s what he said:
James McAvoy’s blunt, incredibly Scottish negative answer to whether or no he will once again be joining his elder counterpart in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is very, very refreshing. After the rampant speculation and wish-washy answers from the likes of Ryan Reynolds whether Deadpool might show up and the infinite possibilities of casting caused by the breakdown of the Multiverse within the MCU and also by Disney buying all intellectual property ever within the real world, it can be a lot to keep track of who might be in what. The directness of James McAvoy is much appreciated, and we will try to take it at face value, but this could also be a misinformation campaign by Marvel Studios. After all, Andrew Garfield was instructed to lie to everyone’s faces that he was not in Spider-Man: No Way Home for months, a job that he apparently relished. We love you anyway, Andrew, you were great in Tick, Tick… Boom!
James McAvoy last played Professor Charles Xavier in 2019’s Dark Phoenix, the last entry (so far) in 20th Century Fox’s series of X-Men films. The acquisition of Fox by Disney gave the rights to X-Men-related properties (as well as The Fantastic Four) to Marvel Studios to produce, which is why everyone is currently on pins and needles waiting for casting announcements for a new Wolverine. And to his credit, McAvoy has merely denied that he is in the upcoming Dr. Strange movie, not that he is entirely done with the role. After all, he was willing to show up in a cameo for Deadpool 2. He has also said that while he feels he finished off the role on a good note and is satisfied, he would be open to reprising it if the writing was good.
Since the apparent ending of his role as Professor X, James McAvoy has starred in HBO’s His Dark Materials series as Lord Asriel Belacqua, the father of central character Lyra Belacqua (Dafne Keen). While it seems pretty open and shut that we will not be seeing the younger, often drunker version of Professor Xavier in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it sounds like we can hold out hope for at least a bit longer. If the writing is good.
