Patrick Stewart, who has portrayed the mutant leader Charles Xavier, a.k.a Professor X for over a decade, recently confirmed that his appearance in Logan will indeed be last time he will play the character. The news comes after previous announcements that this will also be the last X-Men film for Hugh Jackman‘s Wolverine, the series’ beloved anti-hero.
While speaking in a Sirius XM Town Hall alongside Hugh and Logan director and co-writer James Mangold, Patrick recalled coming to the decision after a screening of the film.
“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,” he shared.
“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.”
It will certainly be a bittersweet conclusion for arguably the franchise’s most recognizable characters. Both actors have essentially personified the classic comic book heroes on screen. The duo first appeared together in 2000’s X-Men, and then again in 2003’s X2: X-Men United, 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, 2013’s The Wolverine, and 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Be sure to find out the fates of Wolverine and Professor X when Logan hits theaters March 3. ~Ashleen Grange
Are you sad to see the original Wolverine and Professor X go? Is it time for some new faces to take on the roles? Let us know in the comments below!