Although the Spider-Man: No Way Home, the first full trailer for the Doctor Strange movie proved that the multiversal adventure will be one of the most ambitious productions in the MCU to date. Multiverse of Madness will bring together some of the series’ biggest names—and perhaps even their variants—in a film that will mark Sam Raimi's return to superhero movies.
While Wanda's mysterious lines or the action sequences across the multiverse drew a lot of attention, no moment in the trailer came close to generating the same impact as Logan for what seemed at the time his farewell to the role. The trailer for Multiverse of Madness shows that this is no longer the case.
With the possibilities of the Multiverse now available to the MCU, characters from previous Marvel franchises can believably the Avengers universe. None of this guarantees, however, that the version of Professor Xavier that Stewart is playing is the same one from the FOX chronology. In fact, there is a theory that Professor X in Doctor Strange 2 is actually a live-action version of X-Men 97' Charles Xavier. Perhaps the only X-Men adaptation as well-known as the FOX films, the animated series was the first step in making Marvel's mutants as big as they are in the mainstream and to this day is referenced as one of the best adaptations of the superhero team. At the end of that series, Professor Xavier was rescued by Lilandra and taken to the Shi'Ar to heal his wounds and never be seen again.
The main reason behind that theory is that FOX’s Professor X already had a bittersweet but definitive ending in Logan. Patrick Stewart had reiterated more than once that the film would be the end of Charles Xavier’s story in the same way as it was for Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine. Bringing that version of Professor X back through Multiverse shenanigans for what could be just a quick cameo might be seen as a disservice to the character and undermine the events of Logan. If Stewart is playing a different version of Xavier, however, then the criticism might be somewhat mitigated.
In addition to avoiding ruining Logan's Charles arc, the decision to bring Professor X from the animated series to Multiverse of Madness could also serve Disney +'s current push towards the X-Men 97 series. The show has been one of the flagships of Disney+ ever since its launching both domestically and overseas, and a revival is already in the works. The presence of Professor Xavier from that universe in a live-action production as big as Multiverse of Madness would be the perfect way to combine the MCU brand with a soon-to-come Disney+ original.
Patrick Stewart being a live-action version of Professor Xavier from X-Men 97 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be a creative solution and come as a surprise not only for casual audiences but even to the most knowledgeable fans. The decision would reduce the criticism about potentially ruining FOX's Charles Xavier arc while also bringing one of the best X-Men adaptations to the spotlight. That said, Patrick Stewart can play any of these versions of Professor X — or even a completely different one — always with mastery.
