Although Patrick Stewart reprised Charles Xavier for his cameo in The Wolverine, X-Men: Days of Future Past and Logan, the 2010s chiefly saw James McAvoy playing the younger Professor X in the X-Men movies’ prequel era. Across X-Men: First Class, Days of Future Past, X-Men: Apocalypse and Dark Phoenix, we watched McAvoy’s version of the mutant telepath establish his School for Gifted Youngsters and form the X-Men into a force for good. It’s been a handful of years since McAvoy last played Professor X, and the actor has shared his “biggest criticism” of the X-Men movies he participated in.
During his interview with GQ, James McAvoy made it clear that he had a great time working in the X-Men franchise, calling it “one of the most positive experiences I've had with a studio” and specifically citing Days of Future Past as “one of the better films” he’s been involved in. However, looking back on this chapter of professional life, McAvoy mentioned that he was dissatisfied with how Professor X and Magneto’s relationship wasn’t explored in-depth following 2011’s X-Men: First Class. In his words:
My biggest criticism of what we did throughout the four movies was that after the first movie, we didn't take advantage of the relationship between [Xavier and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto], which really formed the backbone of the first film. So it was like, why did we just eject that massive weapon?
With the original X-Men movies having followed Patrick Stewart’s Professor X and Ian McKellen’s Magneto long after their friendship ended due to differing views on how to improve the lives of mutants, X-Men: First Class provided a platform to show how these two became friends in the first place. Their shared interest in Kevin Bacon’s Sebastian Shaw, the movie’s main antagonist, brought them together, but by the end of the movie, Erik Lensherr realized that Shaw had the right idea of mutants needing to rule over humans, whereas Charles Xavier still believed humans and mutants could coexist peacefully. It also didn’t help that while deflecting bullets intended for him, Erik inadvertently sent one of them into Charles’ spine, paralyzing him.
Although the prequel X-Men movies continued to feature James McAvoy’s Professor X and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto as main characters, McAvoy is correct that their relationship wasn’t nearly as emphasized. Sure, the two would cross paths here and there, but for the most part, their personal journeys weren’t as intertwined as they had been in First Class. By the end of Dark Phoenix, it seemed as though Charles and Erik’s relationship had returned to its original state, but by that point the main X-Men film series had fizzled out.
The Fox era of X-Men movies may technically be over, but with Patrick Stewart having played Earth-838’s Professor X in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness and Hugh Jackman set to reprise Wolverine in Deadpool 3, perhaps there will come a day when James McAvoy and/or Michael Fassbender will return as Professor X and Magneto. But even if this happens in something like Avengers: Secret Wars, the proverbial ship has sailed on these specific incarnations of the characters being heavily spotlighted. Now we wait for the MCU to introduce its rebooted versions of the X-Men, including Professor X and Magneto.
Disney+ subscribers can stream James McAvoy’s X-Men appearances at their convenience, as well as watch the other Marvel movies in order. HBO Max subscribers can see the actor playing Lord Asriel in His Dark Materials, with the show’s third and final season premiering on December 5.
