MOVIE NEWS – Patrick Stewart has made no secret of his involvement in the Doctor Strange sequel, and it may not be the last we see of him as Charles Xavier.

It’s no secret that Patrick Stewart will return as Professor Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Still, while this version of the original X-Men character has fans excited, the actor has hinted that he would certainly be open to reprising the role. As the MCU delves deeper into the multiverse with the new Doctor Strange movie, it’s clear that there are endless possibilities for who could now return to the Marvel franchise as a version of a previous character. Patrick Stewart is keen to explore this further.

In the Multiverse of Madness, Doctor Strange arrived in cinemas this weekend and is set to be one of the biggest grossing fifar. After topping opening weekend estimates from $150 million to $200 million by the time Sunday’s numbers count, it’s a good sign that fans want to see an expansion of the Marvel multiverse. And rightly so, as one thing seems inevitable, big things are coming to the multiverse, and if current rumours are to be believed, it will end with an Endgame level event, Secret Wars.

For now, the multiverse is just getting started. After getting involved in things he doesn’t understand, Doctor Strange will get a guided tour of the multiverse in his new film, thanks to the arrival of a young America Chavez, who has travelled the universe. Thanks to Chavez, Strange finds himself up against the Illuminati, including Charles Xavier, played by Patrick Stewart. Speaking to Variety after the world premiere of the film, Stewart spoke about why he returned to the role and when asked if he would reprise the role, he said:

“Charles Xavier? Yes. Maybe I will. You know, the whole X-Men comic book series is so huge, so huge, that there might be an opportunity where he returns. We’ll see.”

Of course, there’s currently no word from Marvel Studios on how the X-Men will ultimately appear in the MCU timeline. With the introduction of the multiverse, that could happen in several ways. However, one thing worth noting is that while this is one version of Professor X, and we may see another version in the Fox films, it stands to reason that there is another Professor X already somewhere in the MCU timeline. It could also mean that we could see Patrick Stewart again, even if only as a cameo when X-Men arrives.

But realistically, Stewart isn’t as young as he once was, and while he’s still capable of dominating a scene, it would be foolish to think that he could play Charles Xavier in the MCU in the long run, given the amount of time that passes between films in each franchise. The 81-year-old actor would likely be in his mid-80s by X-Men debuts. He could be in his 90s by the time a second film follows, suggesting that even if we see Stewart’s Charles Xavier again, it will likely be some torch-passing cameo to introduce the next generation of X-Men.