In just a few days, Marvel Studios will re-enter the blockbuster cinematic game that’s already sparked enthusiastic craze in the fandom with Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. From a potentially villainous twist for the Scarlet Witch to the MCU introduction for Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, this sequel has a chance to take on the baton of Spider-Man: No Way Home and use it to run at super speeds.
Doctor Strange 2 already has one of the biggest rosters of confirmed and rumored characters for an MCU film ever, and really lives up to its Multiverse of Madness subtitle even before the film is fully out. Much of this has to do with Stewart’s shocking role as he reprises one of his most iconic characters — one he’s played for more than two decades.
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So far, the biggest clue that Stewart is in Doctor Strange 2 was the Super Bowl trailer, which is where fans saw the back of his head and heard him say it “We should tell him the truth.” With just over a week left until the MCU’s first film hits theaters in 2022, the promotional tour is once again focusing on Stewart with new Professor X-centric imagery.
More Professor X in Doctor Strange 2 spot
Marvel Studios released a 15-second TV spot for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that featured a new nod to Patrick Stewart’s Professor X.
The end of the clip features a shot of Charles Xavier moving forward in his classic yellow hover chair, taken from Marvel Comics. Professor X can also be heard “We’ll see what kind of Doctor Strange you are.”
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Marvel Studios
To update: The full promo has now been removed by Marvel Studios.
More teasing for the MCU’s first X-Man
Almost no character in Doctor Strange 2 has garnered more attention than Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, considering fans thought his time in the role was over after 2017’s Logan. Well, this image of his hover chair is the closest thing to confirming that the mutant leader will traverse the multiverse and make his influence felt alongside the MCU’s most powerful mages.
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As with most MCU Phase 4 projects, Stewart’s MCU introduction will even feature his comic-accurate hover chair for the first time in one of his appearances. This is just the latest character to receive this top-notch treatment after Vincent D’Onofrio’s Kingpin and Sam Wilson’s Captain America, which seems only right considering Stewart helped modernize the mold with 2000’s X-Men Breaking through superhero movies.
The biggest question now is how big Stewart’s role will be in the MCU sequel, especially with the Illuminati at the center of the multiversal madness. Regardless of those answers, Stewart’s inclusion alone will leave fans feeling nostalgic as they look forward to what the MCU can do in the future with so many characters available to the franchise.
Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness hits theaters on May 6th.
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