X-Men: James McAvoy’s Surprising Answer When Asked If He Misses Professor X

James McAvoy may have activated Cerebro for the last time. The Marvel star played Professor Charles Xavier, the telepathic leader of the mutant X-Men, in five films between 2011 and 2019, beginning with X-Men: First Class. After reprising the role in X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse (and cameoing in Deadpool 2), McAvoy may have had his final turn as Professor X in franchise finale Dark Phoenix. Despite the opening of the Multiverse — McAvoy’s Professor X predecessor Patrick Stewart will crossover into the MCU in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness — McAvoy refuted rumors of his X-Men return in the Marvel Studios sequel. 

“No,” McAvoy told a fan who asked on Instagram Live if he appears in Doctor Strange 2. When another Instagram follower questioned McAvoy about whether he misses playing Professor X, McAvoy answered, “No, I don’t think so.” 

McAvoy previously said he “won’t be gutted” if he never again plays Professor X in an X-Men sequel or a Marvel reboot, telling ComicBook he “had a good ending” in the final chapter of Fox’s X-Verse. 

“I’m all about doing good stuff, and when I got asked to play Charles the first time, it was good stuff. It was good writing, and I was excited,” McAvoy said of First Class in a September interview with ComicBook. “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.”

Asked about the expected X-Men franchise reboot in development at Kevin Feige’s Marvel Studios, McAvoy said, “They’re clever people. 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 [the X-Men cast],” he continued, “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.”

Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Doctor Strange, Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff, Chiwetel Ejiofor as Karl Mordo, Benedict Wong as Sorcerer Supreme Wong, Rachel McAdams as Christine Palmer, and Xochitl Gomez as America Chavez, Marvel’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness opens only in theaters on May 6.