While Patrick Stewart has confirmed his participation in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, director Sam Raimi has been significantly vaguer.
Since the full-length trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness debuted earlier this year, fans have been wondering if that voice heard from a murky spot somewhere in the multiverse is truly Patrick Stewart’s. The director of the picture has an explanation, although it’s a little hazy.
Director Sam Raimi told Fandango, “I couldn’t promise you that Patrick Stewart is in the picture.” “Marvel will only let me say that.”
Despite Raimi’s evasive remark, Stewart has already confirmed his involvement in the sequel to Doctor Strange. Following the initial release of the trailer, Stewart initially denied the same.
When the teaser first aired, the internet was ablaze with rumours about Stewart’s involvement. Stewart played Professor Charles Xavier in seven different X-Men films for 21st Century Fox, the most recent of which was 2017’s Logan. The upcoming Doctor Strange picture will not only mark Stewart’s return to the role, but will also serve as a bridge between the Doctor Strange franchise and the Marvel Cinematic Universe. When Walt Disney Pictures bought Fox in 2019, the assimilation was made possible.
Stewart’s statements in the teaser, “We should tell him the truth,” sparked speculation that Stewart’s Professor X is a member of the Illuminati, a secretive superhuman society. Doctor Strange and Professor X were both original members of the secret society, which was first introduced in the comics in 2005. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, if fan conjecture is right, will introduce the gang into the MCU.
Professor X has previously died twice in the canon of the X-Men film franchise. In 2006’s X-Men: Last Stand, the telepathic mutant commander was slain by the Dark Phoenix entity, however, his mind seemed to have escaped into the body of another. However, in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past, the time-bending aspect of the film reversed those occurrences, leaving Professor X alive and well. That is, until Logan’s lethal clone, X-24, stabs the dementia-stricken professor to death in the near future.
Professor X could have improved before the events of the upcoming film, or he could be an alternate-reality counterpart — a variant — iteration of the character, according to the multiverse’s reality-bending abilities.
When Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theatres on May 6, the nature of Professor X’s reappearance will be revealed.
