Fans could not have been more ecstatic back in the late 90s when it was announced that distinguished British actor Patrick Stewart had been cast as Professor Charles Xavier in the as-yet unmade ‘X-Men movie, which came out in 2000. Not only was he a fine Shakespearean actor with commanding stage presence and geek cred having spent over a decade playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard on ‘Star Trek: The Next Generation’, but hell, he flat out LOOKED like the comic book character. Stewart made the baldhead sexy and Professor X’s smooth scalp was his most distinguishing physical characteristic.
Flash forward ten years, after a few duds in the ‘X-Men’ film series, 20th Century Fox decided to reboot the franchise by going back to its roots and depicting a young Charles Xavier just beginning his journey to becoming the mutant leader he had been in the modern movies. Up and coming actor James McAvoy took on the daunting task of embodying a young Patrick Stewart– a task he accomplished quite well, by most accounts. But one thing differentiated the two Xaviers– McAvoy’s shaggy 60s coif.
Most fans were able to get past this. In the comics, it was explained that Xavier’s powerful psychic abilities caused him to go prematurely bald, but this was never mentioned in the movies. Most just assumed that he was sans hair… well, because he was old.
But in ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’, McAvoy’s appearance will bring him more in line with Stewart’s. Back in May, the actor tweeted a picture of himself having his head shaved for the film, indicating that even though he is a younger Xavier, he will actually go bald to more closely resemble his comic book counterpart.
How does this come about? Well, as is the norm, details about this super hero flick are being kept tightly under wraps. But while promoting his new movie ‘Victor Frankenstein’, McAvoy appeared on ‘The Graham Norton Show’ and did spill a tease about his character’s follicle metamorphosis:
“He ends up going through something so horrible and physically painful that he literally half pulls his hair out/half it falls out. Maybe, or maybe not…I just shit myself because I know Fox Studios who own me might be angry with me for sharing that.”
They shouldn’t be too angry! McAvoy doesn’t give away too much, but wow his character has really been through the wringer after being accidentally crippled by Magneto in ‘First Class’, regaining the use of his legs at the cost of his psychic powers and losing so many companions as the government gathered them up and killed them as part of their experiments.
After all that, what could possibly cause him even greater distress to bring about this fit?
Guess we’ll have to wait until next summer to find out!
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is directed by Bryan Singer and stars McAvoy, Michael Fassbender (Magneto), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Rose Byrne (Moira McTaggert), Lucas Till (Havok), Evan Peters (Quicksilver), Oscar Isaac (Apocalypse), Olivia Munn (Psylocke), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler), Lana Condor (Jubilee), Ben Hardy (Angel), Monique Ganderton (Death), Rochelle Okoye (Plague) and Tómas Lemarquis (Caliban).
The film opens on May 27, 2016.
Source: Cinema Blend
