Despite the many, many cameos in Deadpool & Wolverine, director Shawn Levy has confirmed that Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier was never even considered for the movie. As the titular heroes, played by Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman, respectively, join the MCU, Deadpool & Wolverine bid farewell to the X-Men’s tenure under the 20th Century Fox banner. The film features hundreds of nods, jokes, and Easter eggs about the old X-Men franchise. But fans were disappointed that Professor Charles Xavier, one of the most popular X-Men (second to Jackman’s Wolverine), didn’t make an appearance.

Speaking to Josh Horowitz on the Happy Sad Confused podcast, Shawn Levy was asked about the potential cameos that didn’t make the final cut. One character Levy was asked about directly was Charles Xavier. Much to everyone’s surprise, Levy admitted that Professor X was never going to be in the movie. Levy explained:

“[It was]
never even discussed
. [He was] studied. Studied by Emma Corrin, big time, because the Cassandra siblinghood to Professor X is really interesting to us.
But, no, never discussed. Never considered.
”

Despite Deadpool & Wolverine being a crowd-pleasing movie filled with endless fanfare, some audiences were still upset that Professor X didn’t appear in the movie. Not only was the character long-rumored to be one of the film’s surprise cameos, but his twin sister Cassandra Nova (Emma Corrin) is the movie’s main villain. Some fans thought Charles Xavier should have shared screen time with Cassandra Nova. However, others believe it would have made little sense, considering the characters have never appeared on the big screen together.

Very Few X-Men Appeared in Deadpool & Wolverine

Deadpool & Wolverine was packed to the brim with incredible cameos. From the cavalcade of Deadpool variants to Dafne Keen’s return as Laura/X23 and Channing Tatum’s triumphant debut as Gambit, the movie was a love letter to the X-Men franchise. However, very few original X-Men were featured in the film. Some of the franchise’s minor villains, like Toad and a recast Juggernaught, made small appearances, but the franchise’s big hitters were nowhere to be found.

Related New Deadpool & Wolverine ADR Footage Connects Hugh Jackman to Logan Shawn Levy calls back to Hugh Jackman’s time working on Logan by releasing Hugh Jackman’s ADR footage from Deadpool & Wolverine.

During the conversation, Shawn Levy discussed the other rumored cameos. The internet was ablaze with rumors and speculation in the build-up to Deadpool & Wolverine’s release. Fans thought that Jean Grey, Storm, Cyclops, or any of the original X-Men might show their faces in the last outing in that universe. Shawn Levy said he was aware of the rumors. However, the director didn’t confirm whether any of the core X-Men characters were considered to appear in the film. However, the director praised fans on the internet for creating the perfect “smoke screen” that hid the movie’s actual cameos. Levy said:

“I read a lot about Storm. I read a lot about Anna Paquin [Rogue] coming back. I mean, I read everything.
The internet has been a delightful smokescreen for the truth
.”

Deadpool & Wolverine
is currently screening in theaters.