Logan: Patrick Stewart’s Final Appearance As Professor X
By Steve Lam
Patrick Stewart tells saddened fans that Logan will be his final X-Men film.
It’s quite a feat for any actor to become synonymous with a role. When it does happen, some thespians may express their disdain, while others embrace it. Patrick Stewart falls into the latter crowd.
The gentlemanly British actor has accomplished this monumental achievement twice in his career—as the stoic Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek universe, and as the fatherly, powerful, telepathic mutant Professor Charles Xavier.
To say that the man is an icon is an understatement. That’s why the latest news comes as a huge disappointment to avid X-Men fans and fans of Stewart’s work. First reported by Entertainment Weekly, the 76-year-old actor confirmed at a SiriusXM Town Hall that the upcoming Logan will be his final outing as Professor X:
WARNING: Before reading this, fans should prepare themselves with some tissues
"A week ago, Friday night in Berlin, the three of us sat, watching the movie … And I was so moved by it, much more moved than I had been the first time of seeing it. Maybe it was the company of these two guys, but the movie ended and — this is an admission — but at one point [Hugh] reached out, and he took my hand in those last few minutes, and I saw him go [mimes wiping a tear from his eye] like this, and then I realized I had just done the same thing. Then, the movie ended… and we were going to be taken up on stage, but not until the credits were over. So, we had some time to sit there and, as I sat there I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie. So, I told [Hugh] that same evening, ‘I’m done too. It’s all over.’"
So the rumors were true. The Patrick Stewart version of Professor X will be no more. The mantle has been fully passed to James McAvoy, who currently plays a younger version of the character (I still don’t see how McAvoy will end up looking like Stewart. Oh well, I guess it’s a mandatory suspension of disbelief.)
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Stewart first played Professor X almost two decades ago in the franchise starter X-Men (2000). This film also marked the first time Hugh Jackman put on the claws to play Logan/Wolverine. Stewart’s performance was lauded by critics and fans—as most had petitioned the actor for the role for years, even before an X-Men film was even a concept.
The thing that could make this news even sadder is Hugh Jackman making an equally confirming announcement that his time as Wolverine is also ending. This has definitely been hinted at, but there hasn’t been any official word. When Jackman does hang up the claws, the search for a new actor will be extremely daunting.
To listen to the SiriusXM Town Hall Meeting with Patrick Stewart, Hugh Jackman, and director James Mangold in its entirety, tune in to EW Radio, Channel 105 on Friday, March 3, 2:00 p.m. EST.
Next: Check out the dramatic first trailers for Logan
Production Details
Logan—Official Synopsis
"Set in the future of 2024, Logan and Professor Charles Xavier must cope with the loss of the X-Men when a corporation lead by Nathaniel Essex is destroying the world leaving it to destruction, with Logan’s healing abilities slowly fading away and Xavier’s Alzheimer’s forcing him to forget. Logan must defeat Nathaniel Essex with the help of a young girl named Laura Kinney, a female clone of Wolverine."
Logan has a United States release date of March 3, 2017
The film is directed by James Mangold, written by Michael Green and David James Kelly, based on the series Old Man Logan by Mark Millar and Steve McNiven, and stars Hugh Jackman as James Howlett / Logan / Wolverine, Sienna Novikov as Laura Kinney / X-23, Boyd Holbrook as Donald Pierce, Richard E. Grant as Dr. Zander Rice, Stephen Merchant as Caliban, Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier / Professor X, and Eriq La Salle, Elise Neal, and Elizabeth Rodriquez in unspecified roles.