Of all the weird moments and choices in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Illuminati scene might be the one that most made us wonder “wait… what just happened?” Patrick Stewart, Professor X himself, brought the X-Men into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in Sam Raimi’s 2022 sequel, but filming his cameo sounds like a “what just happened” situation all its own.
In a new interview with Happy Sad Confused host Josh Horowitz—which also covers his long theater career and Star Trek, among other topics—Stewart reflected on his experience “on set,” such as it was. First, though, he said that despite the gory events of Multiverse of Madness, and the character’s own track record for expiring on-screen, Professor X is “still around.” (He has “every confidence” in that fact!) When Horowitz asked Stewart if he’d be appearing with his old pal Hugh Jackman in Deadpool 3, the actor said, “it has come up, there’s been a process. You know, the last two, three years have been difficult with the labor problems and the health problems, and covid, you know.” A diplomatic non-answer—but he didn’t rule it out!
As for Professor X’s cameo among the Illuminati in Multiverse of Madness, Stewart says—like the other actors in that scene—he filmed his part solo, due to those difficulties he’d mentioned moments earlier. “It was alone … I think for the big scene, each one of the leading actors had the same experience. They were shot on their own.” He notes that it was “frustrating and disappointing… but that’s how it has been. The last few years have been challenging.”
Watch the full interview with Horowitz below.
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