Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness took us to Earth-838 and introduced a team of "heroes" known as The Illuminati. Since the movie arrived in theaters, various comments have left us under the impression that they ruled over their reality with an iron fist, hence why they seemed to have few qualms about killing Doctor Strange when he crossed the line.
However, arguably the most heroic member of this group outside of Mister Fantastic was Professor X.
He gave the MCU's Doctor Strange the opportunity to do the right thing, but ultimately failed to overpower the unhinged Scarlet Witch upon entering her mind. Clearly based on how the character appeared in X-Men: The Animated Series, Sir Patrick Stewart reprised the role of Charles Xavier for a fan-pleasing handful of scenes.
It made sense with the X-Men '97 revival on the horizon, and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Costume Designer Graham Churchyard recently told us about how that look based on the TV show came to be.
"That was straight from Kevin [Feige]. In his youth, he watched the 90s animation and said, 'We want to do, instead of the wheelchair, the yellow [one].' That's in the animation, as you know, and so is the green suit," he explains in the video above. "I sent Kevin pictures of Sir Patrick's fitting and he was just over the moon that we'd done the green suit and the striped tie exactly like the comic."
"I made that as a Saville Row tailored suit with Yorkshire woollens. Patrick reminded me that, many years ago, his mother used to work in the woollen trade in Yorkshire, so he was he was very happy he was wearing something from that heritage," Churchyard continued. "He doesn't need a superhero suit, right? He's Patrick Stewart. That was just taken directly from the animation and Kevin was the first to say, 'That's what we're doing. Can you make it?'"
We're not surprised that Feige was the one who came up with giving Professor X a makeover that was identical to what we saw in X-Men: The Animated Series.
While creating this look for Stewart doesn't sound as complex as it was for a character like Captain Carter, it's still fascinating to get some insights into how Churchyard and his team made it happen. Regardless of how Xavier is portrayed moving forward, fans will no doubt forever be grateful to see this take on the X-Men's leader in live-action.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness is now available on Digital and will be released on 4K, Blu-ray and DVD July 26.