X-Men veteran not returning in Deadpool 3 after all, according to reports

We are just weeks away from the release of Deadpool and Wolverine. The movie that was once titled Deadpool 3 has been on the minds of fans since the credits rolled on the second Deadpool movie back in 2018. The Disney and Fox merger a few years back threw the franchise into doubt, but Marvel Studios opted to proceed with the Deadpool film series anyway, which was music to the ears of Marvel fans everywhere.

But Deadpool and Wolverine has proven to be so much bigger than just acting as a third Deadpool movie. Not only does it bring Ryan Reynolds' Merc With A Mouth into the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it brings back Hugh Jackman as Wolverine from the X-Men movie series, and it is also expected to play a major role in the MCU's Multiverse Saga, opening the franchise up to more returns and cameos.

However, in spite of recent rumors, there is one X-Men actor we shouldn't expect to see in it, according to reports.

Patrick Stewart reportedly is NOT in Deadpool and Wolverine

The Marvel world was briefly abuzz with rumors that Patrick Stewart would be appearing in Deadpool and Wolverine, reprising his role as Professor Charles Xavier from the 20th Century Fox X-Men movies, but it appears that this is not the case after all. Marvel insider and scooper MyTimeToShineHello has claimed the actor will not be appearing in the movie even after this new report.

The rumors all stemmed from a report from Deadline, which revealed that Stewart and Sam Claflin would star in Barbaric - a Netflix TV adaptation of the Vault comic. That report also claimed that the legendary star would make his next big screen appearance by bringing back Professor X in Deadpool and Wolverine.

Shortly after the news of his potential return began circulating the internet, MyTimeToShineHello quoted a post on social media platform X, formerly Twitter, referencing the article, stating "They're wrong, he's not in it". Furthermore, even though he had been rumored to appear over the past year, it seemed unlikely after he himself acknowledged the movie in an interview.

Stewart already made his MCU debut as a different version of Professor X who went up against the Scarlet Witch in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. He was asked by Josh Horowitz about potentially returning to the role again in Deadpool 3 Back in January when he appeared on the Happy Sad Confused podcast. However, though he responded enthusiastically, he acknowledged that there might be some issues in potentially making it happen.

"It has come up, there’s been a process... But the last two to three years have been so difficult with the labor problems and the health problems, COVID, you know…"

- Patrick Stewart

He faced some of the production issues he referenced when filming Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness as he revealed that none of the actors he was in the same scenes as ever appeared on set together due to COVID safety protocols and that all of their scenes were filmed separately; something that he admitted was "frustrating and disappointing".

That's not to say that the same thing would have happened on Deadpool and Wolverine, but given that he may not have taken part in the original shoot, any reshoots could have potentially seen him in a similar predicament of acting alone in a scene that would then potentially have been placed into the movie - something that the esteemed actor understandably doesn't seem too keen on.

Taking all of that into account, it's unlikely that Charles Xavier will appear in Deadpool and Wolverine. It's certainly not impossible because Marvel has been known to film things in secret (and scoopers have been wrong in the past), but given how the Deadpool and Wolverine statement has been removed from the initial post and how multiple other reports have claimed that an appearance from the X-Men star is unlikely, we should probably keep our expectations low (while secretly hoping that he shows up anyway).

Charles was a fixture of the original X-Men movies, so it would be a delight to see Stewart act opposite Hugh Jackman once again, especially after their emotional performances in 2017's Logan. It would be amazing to see it happen, but again given all these reports, it's best to keep the expectations of it happening low right now.