Patrick Stewart Admits Even He Was Confused About That Doctor Strange 2 Trailer

Patrick Stewart in X-Men: Days of Future Past
(Image credit: 20th Century Fox)

The Marvel Cinematic Universe is constantly growing, and Phase Four has been pushing the envelope of the franchise’s narrative possibilities. The next of the upcoming Marvel movies is Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness , which looks like it’s going to be absolutely wild. The trailer teases just how much insanity will occur throughout its runtime, and the great Patrick Stewart has admitted that even he was confused about Doctor Strange 2’s trailer.

The trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness quickly went viral, as Marvel fans dissected every frame of footage to decipher what director Sam Raimi has up his sleeve. One of the most newsworthy moments happens when Benedict Cumberbatch’s title character meets a mysterious group of new characters, one of whom sounds like Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier from X-Men. Fans have been wondering if this crossover was actually happening, and Stewart seemed to confirm his role while admitting even he was confused about his possible role in the trailer. As the Star Trek icon shared:

It wasn't until the next morning when I woke up and looked at my phone and found that I had been bombarded with responses. And my PR people had sent me reactions that they had detailed and passed on to me. I actually didn’t recognize my own voice, it sounded different. Whether I had a cold or something at the time I don’t know, but I was astonished. And all they saw was the back of my shoulder and I think my earlobe, nothing else.

Well, color me intrigued. While Patrick Stewart has been artfully dodging questions about Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, this seems to be the closest thing to an official confirmation of his role. After all, he’s describing his own appearance and voice in the cryptic trailer. Are the X-Men finally joining the MCU? We’ll just have to wait and see.

Patrick Stewart’s comments come from an interview with ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton about the new season of Picard. The conversation eventually turned to that Doctor Strange 2 trailer, and the legendary actor’s possible role in the movie. Stewart apparently barely recognized his own voice in the limited footage, which has a mysterious character sharing “the truth” with Benedict Cumberbatch’s hero.

This one line of dialogue in the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness has inspired a number of fan theories about the movie. The most popular is that Sam Raimi is adapting the Marvel Illuminati for film. This multidimensional team usually includes Professor X, which could make way for Patrick Stewart to reprise his iconic role. As a reminder, you can re-watch the trailer below.

Given his years playing Charles Xavier on the big screen, fans would be delighted to see Patrick Stewart back as the mutant leader. If he does in fact appear in Doctor Strange 2, it would mark his first major return since James Mangold’s Logan. He had seemingly retired along with Hugh Jackman, which is why that line of dialogue in The Multiverse of Madness’ trailer threw fans for a loop.

All will be revealed when Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness arrives in theaters on May 6th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience. 

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.