Professor Charles Xavier is one of the most recognizable roles for Hollywood veteran Patrick Stewart. He has appeared in eight movies as the extremely powerful telepath and is now teasing fans that he may appear in another upcoming MCU film.
Stewart recently sat down with Comicbook.com to discuss the upcoming final season of Star Trek: Picard, and the actor was asked about returning as Professor X in Deadpool 3. Stewart revealed that he was told “to standby”, teasing a possible return in the film.
“I’ve been told to standby,” Stewart revealed. “I know nothing more than that, honest.”
Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman are the only actors currently confirmed for the upcoming Deadpool 3. The actors will be reprising their roles as Wade Wilson aka Deadpool and Logan / Wolverine, respectively in the third installment.
Stewart first appeared as Professor X in 20th Century Fox’s X-Men (2000) alongside Jackman’s Wolverine. His most recent appearance as the telepath and leader of the X-Men was in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. In the movie, Professor X is part of the Illuminati and was killed by the Scarlet Witch.
Interestingly, Stewart appeared in Hugh Jackman’s final appearance as Wolverine in Logan and had a brief cameo in Deadpool 2. This means that Stewart already has a working relationship with both actors that are set to appear in Deadpool 3.
How will Deadpool 3 affect the timeline for Professor X?
Professor X has already died twice on screen. The first time was in Logan where he was killed by X-24 after confessing his guilt for inadvertently killing most mutants. The second time was the aforementioned death at the hands of the Scarlet Witch.
Granted, both deaths take place in different timelines, so they’re technically different people from alternate universes. So, a Professor X could also exist in the universe of Deadpool 3, which happens before the events of Logan.
Hugh Jackman previously revealed that Logan director James Mangold has approved Wolverine’s return in Deadpool 3. If the director is OK with Jackman returning, he should also be cool with Stewart reprising his role as Professor X.
“He was actually really cool about it,” Jackman revealed. “I did tell him it takes place before our movie, so I wasn’t going to screw it up with my claws coming out of the grave. He was relieved by that.”
Deadpool 3 is reportedly in pre-production with filming expected to begin in May. If all is good, Deadpool 3 will premiere on November 8.
