While the original X-Men cast will return in next December's Avengers: Doomsday, Marvel Studios is also planning to recast the mutant team for its eventual reboot of the franchise.
Thunderbolts* director Jake Schreier will be at the helm of that, and will have to cast actors to play these characters in the MCU for the next decade or more. That will be no easy feat, particularly when we've already seen such iconic interpretations of X-Men mainstays like Cyclops, Wolverine, and Storm.
In the case of Professor X, Sir Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy have both put their respective stamps on the powerful psychic who sends this team into battle.
During a recent appearance at New York Comic Con, The Witcher star Laurence Fishburne revealed his interest in playing Charles Xavier. He's no stranger to the Marvel Universe, having voiced Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. He also played the MCU's Bill Foster in Ant-Man and The Wasp and What If...?
Talking to ComicBook.com, Fishburne elaborated on why he singled out Professor X as the comic book role he wants most. "I am a true believer in terms of the Marvel space," he shared. "Whether it’s Marvel comic books or the MCU. I was reading comic books at the age of six in New York City, and those writers and those artists were talking about things that were happening in the city that I was growing up in."
"So, of course, there are many characters in the Marvel Universe that I related to that I wished I could have played when I was younger. But I’m very, very pleased with the way that the movies have been cast," the actor continued. "I’m very, very pleased with the way that they have played out. I’m a huge fan of all of those movies."
Fishburne added, "Professor X, at the moment, is, I feel, the most appropriate character for me to play at the age that I am at this point. And for the kind of roles that I am known for. It feels like it would be fit for me. So that’s why."
When it was put to The Matrix icon that he could perhaps bring back Professor X's oddly shaped eyebrows from the comics, he laughed and responded, "Well, I will speak to them if I am fortunate enough to fulfill this dream. If I am fortunate enough to realize that dream, I will certainly make the request about the eyebrows."
What are the odds that Fishburne gets to play Professor X? It's hard to say. Marvel Studios could be looking to cast a younger actor in the role, especially if we're getting a teenage version of the team. They may also want a Charles more in line with the Krakoa-era X-Men leader (who, rather than being confined to a wheelchair, was a little more proactive).
Do you think Fishburne would be a good pick to play Professor X in the X-Men reboot?