James McAvoy Talks About Returning as Charles Xavier in the MCU — And It’s Not Looking Good

Deadpool & Wolverine has opened the floodgates for mutants and the X-Men in the MCU. While mutants had already been introduced, the X-Men hadn’t been mentioned in any meaningful way until the latest Deadpool movie.

Professor X made a technical debut in the MCU, as portrayed by Patrick Stewart in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but he appeared as a variant of an alternate reality and was ultimately killed by the Scarlet Witch.

Avengers: Secret Wars is rumored to bring together a multiversal mix of characters from across all Marvel live-action properties, and there’s also an upcoming X-Men live-action reboot on the horizon.

Given that Professor X is one of the most iconic mutants and X-Men members, fans are naturally hoping for his appearance in both projects, ideally with James McAvoy reprising the role.

In a recent interview with Buzzfeed UK, McAvoy discussed his most memorable characters, sharing that he believes his roles as Mr. Tumnus from The Chronicles of Narnia and Charles Xavier are more likely to be recast for the Netflix Narnia reboot and the MCU’s X-Men film. However, he also acknowledged that there is still a chance he could return as Professor X in the MCU.

“That’s very kind. Although, I suspect, with both [Mr. Tumnus in Narnia] and [the X-Men’s Charles Xavier], we will be seeing someone else play those roles.”

James McAvoy portrayed Professor X for 8 years, beginning with X-Men: First Class in 2011 and concluding with Dark Phoenix in 2019. While Professor X was referenced in Deadpool & Wolverine due to the presence of his twin sister, Cassandra Nova, as a key villain, the character himself did not appear.

Although it’s likely that Professor X will be recast in the future as the MCU introduces a younger lineup of mutants, there remains a possibility that McAvoy could return as a variant in Secret Wars. What are your thoughts on this? Share your opinions in the comments below!