The X-Men may have to find a new mutant to seek guidance from.
Patrick Stewart has announced that he is retiring from the “X-Men” movie franchise after 17 years portraying the sage mutant leader Professor Charles Francis Xavier ― a.k.a. “Professor X.”
The 76-year-old British actor shared his decision during a SiriusXM Town Hall discussion on his upcoming X-Men film “Logan.” The full discussion and the film are slated for release on March 3, Entertainment Weekly reported Friday.
Speaking beside his “Logan” costar Hugh Jackman and the film’s director and co-writer James Mangold, Stewart said he came to the decision after watching the latest installment about a week ago and finding himself moved to tears.
“I sat there I realized there will never be a better, a more perfect, a more sensitive, emotional, and beautiful way of saying au revoir to Charles Xavier than this movie,” he said.
Jackman, who has also confirmed that he is leaving the franchise after starring as Wolverine, was one of the first people he said he shared the news with.
“I told [Jackman] that same evening, ‘I’m done too. It’s all over,’” Stewart said.
Stewart has starred in six of the X-Men movies preceding “Logan.” These are “X-Men” (2000), “X-Men 2” (2003), “ X-Men: The Last Stand” (2006), “X-Men Origins: Wolverine” (2009), “The Wolverine” (2013), and “X-Men: Days of Future Past” (2014).