Professor X has appeared in 11 live-action X-Men movies. Sir Patrick Stewart was the first to bring Charles Xavier to life on screen in 2000's X-Men, and he's reprising the role for the final time this December in Avengers: Doomsday.
When 20th Century Fox rebooted the franchise with a series of prequel movies, James McAvoy took over to explore the mutant's origin story and relationship with Magneto.
In Marvel Studios and filmmaker Jake Schreier's untitled X-Men reboot, Wolf Man star Christopher Abbott takes over as Professor X. He's twenty years younger than Stewart was when he first played the hero, and 8 years older than McAvoy in X-Men: First Class. Unlike his predecessors, his take is already a little more comic-accurate, as Charles is meant to be American, not British.
What his interpretation will look like beyond that is a mystery. In an interview with Collider, McAvoy shared his advice for Abbott and expressed his hope that the actor gets to put his own unique spin on the powerful telepath.
"Weirdly, did we feel the pressure when we did First Class? I don't know," the Scottish actor mused. "There was something really enjoyable about the nature of that reboot. It felt like a different kind of film, and it kind of liberated us, I think, from some of the pressure. And then we were marketing it and the pressure all hit."
"But just enjoy it. Enjoy it, and explore. Find something. Patrick explored what he explored, I explored what I explored, and I hope he gets to do something and bring himself and bring something new to it, as well," McAvoy continued, "because we can't just watch the same character the same way for 15 films, you know? So, I hope he gets the opportunity to bring himself to it."
Even if Marvel Studios' X-Men delivers the "classic" wheelchair-bound Professor X, the opportunity exists to do something new with the character. The most drastic way to reinvent Charles would be to base him on the version seen during the Krakoan Age.
Directed by Jake Schreier (Thunderbolts*), the untitled X-Men movie stars Kit Connor (Heartstopper) as Scott Summers, Sadie Sink (Spider-Man: Brand New Day) as Jean Grey, Inde Navarrette (Obsession) as Rogue, Asa Germann (Gen V) as Angel, Maya Boyd (& Juliet) as Storm, and Christopher Abbott (Catch-22) as Professor Charles Xavier.
Samara Weaving (Ready or Not) also stars as Emma Frost, alongside Adam Driver (Star Wars: The Force Awakens), who plays Nathaniel Milbury, an alias of Mister Sinister in the comics. There are rumours that Marvel Studios will also introduce Apocalypse.
X-Men will be released exclusively in theaters May 5, 2028.