X-Men's James McAvoy Comments on Possible Return as Professor X in the MCU (Exclusive)

09/29/2021 03:00 pm EDT

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is now a multiverse, which could mean James McAvoy's return as the X-Men's founder, Professor X. Disney+ series Loki and What If...? are currently exploring the multiverse. That exploration continues in upcoming films Spider-Man: No Way Home and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Rumors suggest that the third MCU Spider-Man movie will bring back past Spider-Man film stars. Could future Marvel movies do the same with past X-Men stars? Marvel's mutants will eventually join the MCU, and original Professor X actor Patrick Stewart admitted he'd discussed the role with Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige. Some rumors even suggest Professor X could appear in Doctor Strange's second movie.

ComicBook.com spoke to James McAvoy recently, the actor who played Professor X in the X-Men prequel series, starting with 2011's X-Men: First Class and ending with 2019's Dark Phoenix. We primarily discussed his return as Dream's voice in the Audible adaptation of The Sandman (you can read the bulk of that conversation here). However, we also took the opportunity to ask if he's had discussions with Feige about returning as Professor X, whether that's something he's even interested in, or if he feels similarly to Hugh Jackman about putting his X-Men role firmly in his past.

"I'm all about doing good stuff, and when I got asked to play Charles the first time, it was good stuff," McAvoy says. "It was good writing, and I was excited. If people offer me good writing, I'm always going to be excited, but I do feel like I've had a good ending with Charles and I got to explore some really good stuff, particularly in the first two movies that I did for him as a character. So if my time is done, I'm happy with the time that I spent and the time that I was given and if good writing comes in and people want to do stuff with me, I'll always be open to that, but it's got to be good."

McAvoy may return if the script is strong enough. However, even if he doesn't, he expresses confidence and excitement for whatever comes next. 

"They're clever people," he says, referring to Feige and his team at Marvel Studios. "They're so good at putting their stuff together. They'll figure out where to do it, but that might not involve people who've done it before. It might be a complete reimagining. And as a fan, I'm down for that as well and I'd be excited to see what happens next. If what happens next involves us, then that could be cool, but I'm not sure what way they're going to go with it, basically. But as a fan, I'm excited to see whatever way they go."

Would you like to see McAvoy return as Professor X in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know in the comments. Audible's The Sandman: Act II is now available.

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