As X3 excitement reaches vertiginous levels in the run up to release, Patrick Stewart has broken the production's vow of silence to shed a (very faint) beam of light on production and reveals what's in store for mutant fans.
“Expect more of the same, only strong with more emotions,” says Stewart, aka Professor X. “We’re going to be faced with some real tragedy in this movie and it will bring to a climax the great philosophical and physical war between Charles Xavier and Magneto.” And what about that high-profile funeral we’ve been hearing talk of? “It’s very personal to me,” Stewart says mysteriously. So who is it then? Moira McTaggert, his girlfriend in the comics? Magneto? Or Xavier himself? Alas, he's not telling.
Speaking at the launch of the Take A Stand anti-bullying campaign in association with Charity of the Year Beat Bullying, Stewart said he wasn’t convinced that **X3 **would be the franchise’s own last stand. “When it comes to it you can never say it’s the last because a lot of it is about economic drive. The first two films were among the most successful films ever, if the third would continues that theme, I would imagine there’s a strong possibility that within a short while a fourth one might be in the planning.”
Would he come back? “Oh yes! This is a smashing world to inhabit every few years. I like my character very much, he’s an admirable character. I love the people that I’m working with – Halle Berry, Famke Janssen, it could be worse!”
Sadly, chances of Jean-Luc Picard making an appearance in JJ Abrams’ planned Star Trek film look slim: “I’d have to think very hard about it,” he grinned, “I’ve actually hung up my space suit.”