Patrick Stewart Reveals Fear He Had About Charles Xavier's Classic Wheelchair in Doctor Strange 2

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness finally hit theatres last night, and it's already a hit. The new Marvel movie currently has a 77% critics score on Rotten Tomatoes and an 89% audience score. ComicBook.com's Jenna Anderson gave the movie a 4 out of 5 and called it "an inventive, outrageous turning point for the MCU."  The film stars Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch, Benedict Wong as Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Mordo, and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez. However, there were also some big surprises in the film. Earlier this year, a trailer teased the return of Patrick Stewart's Professor X. The actor played the role in various films ranging from X-Men (2000) and Logan (2017) and he recently revealed to Variety why he was worried about using the character's classic wheelchair.

"Yes! It was very unlike the Porsche that I was driving in the films," Stewart 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."

He added of returning to the role, "Well, it was a day-and-a-half's work. I was in a very different environment from the one that I had ever been in, in any of the X-Men movies. And just like Picard, I was grateful for it, because I could think refreshingly about who he was and how he related to others. Just like Star Trek: Picard, I was a little unsure at first if it was a wise thing to do. Given that Logan had been such a powerful movie and we watched him die in Hugh Jackman's arms. So having seen [Doctor Strange 2] on Monday night, I'm very happy and very proud that I've been part of that."

You can read the official description for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse below:

"Now that Iron Man and Captain America have left after a fierce battle in Avengers: Endgame, former genius surgeon and the strongest magician of them all, Doctor Strange, is expected to play an active role as a central figure in the Avengers. However, using his magic to manipulate time and space at will with a forbidden spell that is considered the most dangerous has opened the door to a mysterious madness called 'the Multiverse.'" 

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now playing exclusively in theatres.