Marvel blew minds when it released a trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that included a brief appearance from Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. The moment came months after rumors began circulating that claimed the powerful X-Men leader was going to have a surprise cameo in the Doctor Strange sequel.
In the weeks following the trailer’s release, Stewart has been understandably evasive about his rumored role in the film. However, it looks like the Picard actor has finally given Marvel fans the confirmation they’ve been waiting to hear.
A Familiar Voice — In a recent interview with Jake Hamilton, Patrick Stewart essentially confirmed that he will appear as Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
"I actually didn't recognize my own voice, it sounded different. Whether I had a cold or something at the time, I don't know,” the actor said. “But I was astonished — and all they saw was the back of my shoulder and I think my earlobe, nothing else — that there would have been so many connections made. It pleased me.”
Stewart’s admission that the bald head we see very briefly in the Multiverse of Madness trailer is, in fact, his, won’t come as much of a surprise to MCU fans. However, his comments not only confirm something fans have long suspected about the Doctor Strange sequel, but also raise an exciting new possibility about the film.
Multiversal Surprises — Now that we know Patrick Stewart’s Professor X is going to appear in Multiverse of Madness, it seems safe to assume that the film will likely be the first entry in the MCU to introduce mutants. Even if Professor X does, as some rumors suggest, not survive the film, his appearance will still open the door for Marvel to introduce more mutants in the coming years.
That’s undeniably exciting considering it’s been nearly three years since Marvel Studios officially acquired the rights to use the X-Men in the MCU. Beyond that, Marvel and Stewart’s willingness to confirm Professor X’s presence in Multiverse of Madness suggests that the character’s cameo isn’t the film’s biggest surprise. There’s just no way Marvel would reveal the biggest ace up its sleeve with Multiverse of Madness still three months away from release.
That said, it’s difficult to imagine what surprise could be bigger than Patrick Stewart both returning as Professor X and making his MCU debut. Is it possible Tom Cruise or John Krasinski really will appear as Tony Stark or Mister Fantastic? We still find the chances of either of those happening to be very thin, but it’s possible that Marvel has a twist or cameo hidden in Multiverse of Madness that no one knows about yet.
The Inverse Analysis — With several months still to go until the film’s release, it’s genuinely surprising just how much Marvel Studios has confirmed about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. From the film’s inclusion of Professor X to the appearances of some surprising Stephen Strange variants, Marvel has already either snuffed or confirmed some of the biggest rumors surrounding the Doctor Strange sequel.
Given the studio’s tendency to keep the plots of its movies under wraps, Marvel’s relatively straightforward promotional campaign for Multiverse of Madness suggests that the film’s biggest surprises will be even more shocking than the ones fans already know about. For now, Marvel fans can at least rest easy knowing they’ll definitely see Patrick Stewart as Professor X again when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters this May.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6, 2022.
