Patrick Stewart May Not Be Done With Professor X After All

While High Jackman made no secret that Logan was the last time he would play Wolverine, nothing was said about Patrick Stewart and his character, Professor X, who has been a staple of the X-Men franchise for over 16 years now. While Logan was also Stewart’s last hurrah in an X-Men film, the actor is now revealing terms under which he would like to reprise Professor X. High on that list, Patrick confesses to being a fan of the new FX series, Legion, and says he would welcome the chance to bring Professor X into the mix.

Patrick Stewart Wants To Play Professor X On Legion

A.V. Club shares that James Corden invited Patrick onto his Late Late Show recently and, while the focus was on Stewart’s last time as Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, in Logan, the subject changed slightly, when another Marvel guest joined the discussion. Also a guest on the Late Late Show on the same night was Legion actor Dan Stevens, who plays the lead character, David Haller.

Upon learning that Stewart is open to reprising Professor X, Stevens was quick to offer the veteran actor a role on Legion.

In response, Patrick said he would “absolutely, 100 percent” take him up on a Professor X spot on Legion. There’s just one hitch. It’s up to Stevens to convince Legion showrunner, Noah Hawley, to make this Marvel collaboration come to fruition.

It’s a little-known fact, except for devout followers of the Legion comic books, that David Haller is the son of Charles Xavier, so even a brief cameo by Patrick Stewart would be a momentous event for the Marvel television series. There are also plans, shared by both Hawley and Stevens, to divulge the truth about David’s parentage in a future episode of Legion, so having Patrick Stewart on hand for that episode might make for an even more thrilling reveal.

Logan Star Patrick Stewart Reflects On A Lifetime As Professor X

In an interview with Time, Patrick Stewart revealed that letting the Professor X character go wasn’t always in the cards, but listening to Hugh Jackman speak about retiring Wolverine gave the Logan actor a new perspective. Stewart says it all came to a head during a Berlin screening of Logan. He and Jackman were seated together in the theater and, as the final scenes played out, Stewart explains that he was overcome with emotion. Although Charles Xavier isn’t in those final scenes, the Logan actor says he was deeply affected, nonetheless.

“But I found it so intensely moving and affecting, that I could feel my eyes welling up with tears,” says Logan’s Patrick Stewart. “And then, Hugh reached over and took my hand in his and squeezed it and looked over, and then with his other hand, I saw him wipe his cheek. And I thought, well, if Hugh Jackman can wipe away a tear at the Berlin Film Festival, then so can I.”

Patrick continues to describe feeling overwhelmed, even as the credits rolled, because the end of Logan was beautifully perfect and, although Professor X was missing from the last scenes, it all seemed to tie everything up nicely.

“By the time I got up on stage, I was content in myself that I had done and said all the things so far as X-Men and Wolverine were concerned that I needed to do to reinforce the point of the whole series,” Mr. Stewart adds.

Much like his role as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Stewart’s role in the X-Men and Wolverine films offered an opportunity to make social and political commentary within a science fiction atmosphere. Patrick now says that he feels a great deal of satisfaction with what he’s been able to do with Professor X in that regard, suggesting that there’s no more he can do with the beloved Marvel character.

Unless, of course, Dan Stevens makes good on his Legion offer.

[Featured Image by Jamie McCarthy/Getty Images]