Hugh Jackman is getting ready to hang up his claws for the last time in the forthcoming as-yet-untiled Wolverine spin-off, due early next year – and now word comes that another original X-Man is looking to retire from mutant service: Professor X himself, Patrick Stewart.
“I would imagine this is probably the end of this franchise for me,” Stewart told ITV News. Though the veteran actor was quick to add the qualifier: “The thing about science fiction and fantasy is that you can never, ever say 'it's the end, it's over'.”
James Mangold is in the director’s chair for the third Wolverine solo outing, which is loosely based on the Old Man Logan comic storyline. Stewart will be making his seventh appearance as the X-Men leader in the film, teasing that “we will a very different Charles Xavier. Nothing like the Charles Xavier you’ve seen in the past. That’s all I’m allowed to say.”
The initial crop of X-Men cast, which originated with Bryan Singer’s X-Men back in 2000, appear to be making way for a new generation, with Ryan Reynolds’ Deadpool, Channing Tatum’s Gambit, X-Force and The New Mutants all dominating the Fox-iverse in future years.
In the meantime, we have Wolverine 3 to look forward to, which is currently working towards a March 3, 2017 release date. (Hopefully, we’ll learn what the damn thing is called between now and then.)