Almost nobody has a longer history with Marvel projects than the legendary Sir Patrick Stewart, who first brought Professor Charles Xavier to life with 20th Century Fox in 2000's X-Men. Now, he's back in the eye of the fandom once again thanks to rumors about a Professor X reprisal in 2022's Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
Marvel Studios unveiled the second full Doctor Strange 2 trailer at the Super Bowl, which teased just how deeply the MCU will dive into the Multiverse after teases in Spider-Man: No Way Home. Rumors are even pointing to a version of the Illuminati coming to the big screen, with Professor X likely leading the group if these rumors are to be believed.
Stewart has already taken to the Marvel way of avoiding spoilers at all costs, trying to convince fans that he knows nothing of any return to his iconic role for the Marvel Studios sequel despite his voice and shoulder clearly being featured midway through the teaser ("We should tell him the truth.").
However, thanks to a more recent chat about the matter, it seems that he's now a little more willing to spill the beans on what's actually happening.
Stewart On Unrecognizable Voice in Doctor Strange 2
In an interview on the Jake's Takes' YouTube channel, Charles Xavier star Patrick Stewart addressed the reports of his appearance in the second trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
When the trailer first premiered during Super Bowl LVI, Stewart admitted that his phone was off and he didn't hear anything about it until the following morning. He even revealed that he "didn't recognize (his) own voice," possibly indicating that it was adjusted in the editing process before the trailer debuted.
In the end, Stewart confirmed that he's a part of the Marvel Studios sequel as fans saw his shoulder and earlobe, stating that the tease "pleased" him:
“Well, I had my phone turned off as it happened, so I didn’t hear anything. It wasn’t until the next morning when I woke up and looked at my phone and found that I had been bombarded with responses and that my PR people had sent me reactions that they had detailed and passed onto me… I actually didn’t recognize my own voice, it sounded different. Whether I had a cold or something at the time, I don’t know. But I was astonished, and all they saw was the back of my shoulder, and I think my earlobe, nothing else. There would have been so many connections made. But, uh, it pleased me.”
Marvel Veteran Excited for Doctor Strange Inclusion
After weeks of rabid speculation, it appears that Patrick Stewart is all in on his comeback as one of the original on-screen mutants.
The veteran star will now boast the longest career as one character in Marvel history, taking the title from Willem Dafoe and Tobey Maguire as the Green Goblin and Spider-Man from 2002 to 2021. Now, with the Multiverse coming unraveled and various universes and stories on a collision course with the MCU, the mutant leader will impart his wisdom, advice, and possibly judgment on the MCU's top players.
Of course, nothing is to be believed until the MCU's next movie fully releases in early May and shows Stewart on screen with his classic wheelchair and bald head.
That being said, all the evidence appears to point in that direction, as the voice in the second trailer sounded too much like Stewart to be dismissed as a bad voiceover. Fans learned all too well about these kinds of rumors during the lead-up to Spider-Man: No Way Home, and now, it's all happening again ahead of the MCU's next major solo event.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness will debut in theaters on May 6, 2022.
