Marvel Studios has reportedly begun meeting with actors for its upcoming X-Men reboot. With none of the stars of 20th Century Studios’ X-Men franchise expected to return, Marvel can fix an error the original movies made with Professor X.
Charles Xavier is not British, despite Patrick Stewart convincing fans otherwise
In the original X-Men movies, Charles Xavier/Professor X was played by English actor Patrick Stewart. Instead of adopting an American accent for the role, Patrick used his natural English accent, leading an entire generation of X-Men fans yo believe the character was British.
The X-Men prequels, beginning with First Class, further cemented the character as British, hinting that he received his English accent from his mother. Of course, considering the other changes those movies made to X-Men lore, this is a relatively minor alteration, especially since Stewart’s performance received a positive reception from the fandom.
However, with a reboot comes the opportunity for Marvel Studios to reestablish Xavier as an American-born character with no English roots. Based on the latest round of casting rumors for X-Men, it sounds like the studio is planning to do exactly that, with American actor Patrick Wilson believed to be in the running for the role.
Wilson is a great pick for Professor X simply because he’s a great actor. He is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and Tony nominee who has starred in major franchises like Insidious, The Conjuring, and Aquaman, the latter of which proves he’s not against starring in comic book movies.
Of course, the cherry on the cake is that Wilson is American and would thus restore Xavier’s original voice and background as a born and raised New York aristocrat. Making Professor X of the Marvel Cinematic Universe a proper American would also go a long way in differentiating him from Stewart’s take on the character, something that will definitely be needed given how beloved and popular his version remains.
Originally reported by Lee Freitag for SuperHeroHype..
