Laurence Fishburne reveals the one the major MCU character he'd want to portray
Laurence Fishburne wants to be the next Charles Xavier. 'The Matrix' expressed his interest in playing the iconic X-Men character in the Marvel Cinematic Universe during a Matrix reunion panel at the New York Comic Con earlier this month.
Fishburne noted he kept an eye on the plans at Marvel Studios. "I know that they’re talking about the X-Men now," the 64-year-old said. "So, at this point, I want one of two things. The first thing would be: what do you think about Laurence Fishburne as Professor X?" The response, according to Entertainment Weekly, was loud cheers from fans as they gave their nod of approval. Charles Xavier has been previously portrayed by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy.
Xavier will now be a key figure in the MCU after Marvel Studios head honcho Kevin Feige confirmed that the cast of X-Men will feature new names after the events of 'Avengers: Secret Wars'. The mutants' move to the MCU was made officially possible after Disney and Fox's merger in 2019. The X-Men have already made appearances in the previous Marvel films, with Stewart reprising his role in 'Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness' and Kelsey Grammer’s Hank in 'The Marvels'.
Fishburne has been a part of the MCU, playing Dr. Bill Foster in 'Ant-Man and the Wasp and in the animated series What If?' He will also be voicing the Beyonder in 'Moon Girl' and 'Devil Dinosaur', and previously voiced Norrin Radd/Silver Surfer in 'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer'.
In the same panel, Fishburne also shot down the idea of being part of the 'Star Wars' franchise. "No, I’m good," he said. "I’m watching everything. I’m watching every Star Wars. I’m in the middle of Rebels now, man. I’m good on the couch with Star Wars. I don’t need a lightsaber. I don’t — pew pew! — I don’t need it." He further added, "People always ask me, ‘What's your favorite thing you've ever done?’ And I'm always like, the next one. Whatever the next thing is. It's been 25 years since The Matrix, and maybe some freak out there has got a strange movie they want to do, and nobody knows if it'll work. I'm your guy!"
At the time of writing, there is no official word on the actors playing prominent X-Men characters after 'Secret Wars'. While there have been rumors of a few names doing the rounds, most notably Colman Domingo as Charles Xavier, much of it has been pencilled down to speculation. Only time will tell if Fishburne will indeed see his wish come true to play Professor X in the future.