Hollywood is currently dominated by comic book franchises. Every year comes with a handful of new superhero movies, but things are starting to change within genre. With the wild success of Deadpool, it became clear that R-rated superhero movies could actually become critical and financial darlings. And now Logan, Hugh Jackman's final movie as Wolverine, is fast approaching; and it has the ability to change the genre as a whole. Part of what makes Logan so anticipated is how intimate and gritty the standalone movie seems to be. Patrick Stewart will be joining Jackman as Professor X, but would James McAvoy be interested in doing a spinoff of his own?
I recently had the chance to chat with James McAvoy about his role in M. Night Shyalaman's upcoming thriller Split. During the interview, I asked him if a standalone movie for Charles, rather than the ensemble films we're used to seeing him in, would be appealing as an actor. His answer may surprise you.
I don't know if Charles would ever get a standalone movie because he's so about connection. He's so about other people, he's so about empathy and reaching out to people, so I don't know if he'd ever get his own movie. But yeah, I'm open to playing Charles again definitely if they offer me a good part and something fun to do.
Well, that certainly seems to put the kibosh on a possible Professor X solo movie for James McAvoy. It just wouldn't make sense for Charles' character to be separate from the rest of the mutants- he's too much of a team player. Although it's important to note that McAvoy had a hilarious title suggestion for said Professor X movie: Chuck. Take that, Jackman.
While fans of James McAvoy's version of Professor X may be disappointed to hear that he won't get a standalone movie of his own, there is a silver lining. The actor seems open to returning to the X-Men franchise if the script was exciting enough. You can check out his full answer below.
Considering that McAvoy and co-stars Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and Nicholas Hoult have completed their 3-picture contract with X-Men: Apocalypse, the whole franchise is up in the air. Bryan Singer and company have previously stated that the next film would move up another 10 years into the 90's, but this might be put on hold if the leading actors decide to move on from the world of mutants.
While the X-Men franchise is in a transitional period, Logan is sure to delight audiences when it flies into theaters March 3rd, 2017. You can check out James McAvoy in Split beginning on January 20th.
