Doctor Strange 2’s Professor X Deception Is Worse Than No Way Home

Doctor Strange 2’s Professor X Deception Is Worse Than No Way Home

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ deception about Patrick Stewart’s possible Professor X return is even worse than No Way Home.

Marvel Studios topped Spider-Man: No Way Home’s secrecy by trying to deceive audiences about Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, who’s making his MCU debut for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse – trademark yellow chair included. The Phase 4 movie has been shrouded in mystery from early on, as the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s exploration of the multiverse gives Marvel the ability to pull off major surprises. Audiences have seen this happen already in Spider-Man: No Way Home. This only came after months of lies from those involved that the Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s versions of Spider-Man would appear. Just as the lies seemed to have ended, Doctor Strange 2 seems poised to make matters even worse.

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Rumors have swirled for months that some former Marvel actors could return to their roles through the MCU multiverse in Doctor Strange 2. Most fans assumed that these rumors would remain nothing but internet speculation until May 2022 when the movie hits theaters. However, the Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Super Bowl trailer went in the opposite direction. It featured a surprising voice cameo of Patrick Stewart. Based on the apparently bald male briefly shown, it seemed Marvel decided to officially confirm Stewart’s return as Professor X. The move was a welcomed surprise from the secretive studio, which made Patrick Stewart’s original comments to the press incredibly strange.

Related: Beware, Doctor Strange 2’s X-Men Reveal Might Be Another Trick

Although Patrick Stewart has since confirmed Professor X, he originally denied his involvement despite his voice being heard in Doctor Strange 2’s trailer. It was a ridiculous moment for Marvel Studios on the heels of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s lies. The decision to have everyone involved with Spider-Man: No Way Home lie about Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire’s appearances made sense. The movie’s marketing did everything it could to hide their involvement as the studios wanted to keep their roles a “surprise” for when people are in the theater. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness’ trailers could’ve implemented a similar marketing strategy, giving Stewart and others plausible deniability about their returns. Instead, they seemingly asked the former X-Men star to lie about his role initially, which ironically draws more attention to the misdirect. Why did Patrick Stewart lie when Professor X isn’t a surprise that Marvel was saving for the movie?

Patrick Stewart’s Secrecy Around Doctor Strange 2’s Professor X Appearance Is Lazy Marketing

Patrick Stewart as Charles Xavier Professor X in Doctor Strange Multiverse of Madness

Patrick Stewart lying about his Professor X appearance in Doctor Strange 2 is a clear example of crossed wires within Disney and Marvel’s marketing departments. While it isn’t clear if Marvel instructed Patrick Stewart to lie about Professor X’s return or if the veteran actor did this for his own amusement, the original deception is a confusing low for Marvel’s secrecy policy. He has a very distinctive voice that fans around the world recognized the second the trailer debuted. Since people heard Professor X’s voice again and saw the back of his bald head, Marvel Studios already essentially confirmed his return. It would’ve been in the movie’s best interest to fully unveil Stewart’s Professor X return in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness from the start instead of converting the opportunity into another ridiculous example of the unnecessary (and often counterproductive) secrecy policy Marvel Studios sometimes enforces.

Thankfully, the secrecy around Doctor Strange 2’s Professor X return has now come to an end. Marvel Studios revealed too much to create any real doubt that this is Patrick Stewart as a version of Charles Xavier. No Way Home’s lies got overturned because of leaked photos and close scrutiny on certain frames of the trailer that Sony and Marvel couldn’t control. But everyone involved in the movie denying their validity kept some level of uncertainty about whether or not Andrew Garfield and Tobey Maguire would appear. Since Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness already teased fans with Professor X (plus other multiverse variants), Marvel could have treated him as they did Doc Ock or Green Goblin of Spider-Man: No Way Home’s marketing. This would give fans a single Variant to follow instead of the litany of rumored multiverse cast members.

The Yellow Chair Still Proves Professor X’s Appearance Is A Marvel Act Of Love

Despite the secrecy around Patrick Stewart’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness involvement, the inclusion of his wheelchair from X-Men: The Animated Series truly seems borne of affection and gratitude. Marvel’s nod to Professor Xavier is a tribute to the original X-Men shows and movies. Having a cartoon-accurate yellow wheelchair for the Prof is one of the most complete acts of fan service in years – even beyond the inter-studio chaos of Spider-Man: No Way Home. X-Men was truly the superhero movie that captured the 2000s generation of superhero movies and set a benchmark of quality that even its own franchise never really lived up to. Combine that with a powerful nod to the immensely popular (and much-memed) X-Men cartoons, and it’s clear that Marvel is essentially slipping its fans a love letter in class. The role he’ll play in the mysterious multiversal Illuminati is unclear – but his appearance is about to upturn everything audiences think they know about how the MCU works.

More: Doctor Strange 2’S Wolverine Rumor Supports Huge Professor X Theory

Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022)Release date: May 06, 2022
Thor: Love and Thunder (2022)Release date: Jul 08, 2022
Black Panther: Wakanda Forever/Black Panther 2 (2022)Release date: Nov 11, 2022
The Marvels/Captain Marvel 2 (2023)Release date: Jul 28, 2023
Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (2023)Release date: May 05, 2023
Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania (2023)Release date: Feb 17, 2023

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About The Author

Cooper Hood
(5689 Articles Published)

Cooper Hood is a news and feature writer for Screen Rant. He joined Screen Rant in late 2016 following a year-long stint with MCU Exchange, which came after first developing an MCU blog of his own. He graduated college in 2016 with a Bachelor’s degree in Media & Public Communication, with a minor in Media Production. Cooper’s love for movies began by watching Toy Story and Lion King on repeat as a child, but it wasn’t until The Avengers that he took an invested interest in movies and the filmmaking process, leading him to discover the world of film journalism. Every year Cooper looks forward to seeing the latest blockbusters from the likes of Marvel, DC, and Star Wars, but also loves the rush to catch up on Oscar films near the end of the year. When he isn’t writing about or watching new releases, Cooper is a fantasy football obsessive and looking to expand his Blu-Ray collection – because physical media is still king! Follow Cooper on Twitter @MovieCooper.

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