Sir Patrick Stewart has teased that he could play Professor Charles Xavier for at least a ninth time now that he has reprised the role within the MCU.
The legendary 81-year-old actor has played the leader of comic book hero group the X Men on the big screen since 2000 and has now played the role in eight outings.
The star made an unexpected return as a variation of Charles from an alternate universe in current box office hit Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness – his first turn as the character since Charles was killed off in the 2017 film Logan.
Sir Patrick now thinks he could make other appearances in Marvel films now that it has been established he can play different versions of the same character.
The British star was asked by Variety if there is chance he will play Professor Xavier again – and he replied: “Charles Xavier? Yeah. There may be.
“You know, the whole X-Men comic series is so huge, so vast, there might be an opportunity in which he comes back. We’ll see.”
For his appearance in the new Doctor Strange film, which stars Benedict Cumberbatch as titular hero Doctor Stephen Strange, Charles Xavier is shown for the first time on screen in his iconic comic book style riding a yellow levitating wheelchair.
Sir Patrick told Variety that he struggled to operate the chair – and feared he would accidentally kill himself on set.
He explained: “That was a very fast, very manipulative wheelchair. And when I first saw the monster that I was going to be driving in this one, I was dismayed.
“But it was fine. It worked very well. I had to bring it to a stop before a flight of stairs. That was my only concern, was that I would somehow get out of control and go all the way down the stairs in this thing!
“But it was a very, very different world from the “X-Men” movies, with references here and there, of course. But I was very, very happy.”
While Sir Patrick has thrilled fans by reprising his iconic superhero role, he has also been thrilling fans by playing his landmark role as Captain Jean-Luc Picard.
Season three of his Star Trek: The Next Generation sequel series aired last week – showing the character saving the galaxy following a time-travelling adventure.
The show is set to return for a third and final season next year which will see him reunite with his Next Generation cast mates for a final hurrah.
Highlighting the end of season 2 via his Instagram page on Friday, the TV and film icon wrote: "We’ve made it to the finale of #StarTrekPicard Season 2. Cheers to our extraordinary cast and crew for all of your talents and work to make it happen. And many thanks to all of you for tuning in...one more round?”
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