Patrick Stewart IS Professor Xavier. Back in the day when Wizard Magazine used to run a feature that called for dream casting for comic books to movies (long before anyone thought an XMen film would even be possible) Stewart was always cast as Xavier. Its perfect.
But with X-Men First Class exploring a Younger Xavier building his school and introducing his first small group of recruits to the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, Xavier will be recast.
TrekMovie caught up with Stewart at an Australian Trek convention where he revealed that he doesn’t expect to be involved in Singer’s franchise prequel. It doesn’t sound like he isn’t interested since he adds that “working with Ian again would be wonderful”, rather it’s that he doesn’t expect to be needed.
It does make sense that they would want a younger actor considering the time frame. But I imagine he wont be TOO young (though there may be a flashback scene or two)
I suspected they would pick up First Class right after the closing moments of X-Men Origins Wolverine where an Xavier guides the fleeing children to a helicopter and meets Scott Summers for the first time. Stwart played him there, but once again youngified digitally as he was in Last Stand.
I think Michael Rosenbaum could play a solid younger Prof X who isn’t too young to make the logical step from First Class to the graduated X-Men who serve as teachers at Xavier’s school.
