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Professor X In The MCU Can Revive 1 Major Marvel Mutant

ScreenRant 3/25/2023 Kai Young

Professor X's potential MCU debut in Deadpool 3 could also mark the introduction of another major Marvel mutant. As part of the MCU's Phase 6, Deadpool 3 will explore the multiverse by thrusting Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman into the MCU proper after their previous appearances as Wade Wilson, a.k.a. Deadpool, and Logan Howlett, a.k.a. Wolverine, in Fox's X-Men franchise. Recent comments from Patrick Stewart have also teased the return of himself as Professor X and Ian McKellen as Magneto in Deadpool 3, paving the way for some major mutant characters to be integrated into the existing MCU.

So far, Marvel Studios' introduction of mutants into the MCU has been slow, with only Kamala Khan and Namor being revealed to be pre-existing mutants. She-Hulk: Attorney at Law even teased Wolverine a few times, suggesting he already has a part to play in the MCU, but Deadpool 3 will bring a plethora of mutants into the franchise and begin to make their existence common knowledge. The possible inclusion of Professor X and Magneto means that many more related characters can appear, including the X-Men, the Brotherhood of Mutants, and even members of the pair's mutant families, which could see the return of one of Marvel's most complex characters.

Professor X In Deadpool 3 Could Debut Legion In The MCU

First appearing in Marvel Comics' 1985 run of New Mutants #26, David Haller, a.k.a. Legion, was revealed to be the mutant son of Charles Xavier, a.k.a. Professor X, and Gabrielle Haller, a patient at an Israeli psychiatric facility. Legion is one of Marvel's most powerful mutant characters, harboring abilities such as reality warping, shape-shifting, telepathy, telekinesis, and teleportation, all of which become incredibly dangerous when Haller's severe mental illness is taken into account. Diagnosed with a form of dissociative identity disorder in which each of his different personalities exhibit separate mutant abilities, Legion is one of the most complicated characters in Marvel's roster.

Haller is named Legion due to the sheer volume of identities that inhabit his body, since Haller can access over a thousand different personalities, each with their own mutant power. Professor X's potential appearance in Deadpool 3 opens the door for Legion to follow suit. Haller is a character with such a wealth of material that his introduction into the MCU would be fantastic, especially in the whirlwind that is expected to be Deadpool 3. This could even create further bridges between the MCU and Marvel Television's canceled series, as a TV adaptation of Legion ran on FX for three seasons between 2017 and 2019.

Marvel Television’s Legion Almost Had Ties To The MCU

Dan Stevens portrayed David Haller in FX's Legion, a version of the character diagnosed with schizophrenia at an early age and shown to have been a patient in various psychiatric facilities for most of his life. The series also starred Aubrey Plaza as Amahl Farouk, a.k.a. the Shadow King, a parasitic mutant who had infected Haller's mind. While Legion was created to be adjacent to Fox's X-Men franchise, its development under the Marvel Television banner led many to suspect that the series could eventually see crossover with Marvel Studios' MCU, and Legion's designers even wanted to include MCU Easter eggs which would have made clear connections between the two franchises.

Michael Wylie, a set designer for Legion, revealed that he initially wanted to include references to both the Roxxon Corporation and Stark Industries throughout the series. In the MCU, the Roxxon Corporation is a massive petroleum industrial company which has been mentioned and referenced in multiple MCU and Marvel Television projects, and Stark Industries is the multinational weapons manufacturer run by Tony Stark before his career as Iron Man began. References to these two companies in Legion would have clearly connected Legion to the MCU, but these didn't come to fruition and the two lived as separate franchises until Legion came to an end after season 3.

Legion Would Fit In Perfectly In The Multiverse Saga

Despite Legion not being featured as a series set within the MCU, it's still possible for David Haller to make his debut, especially if his father appears in Deadpool 3. Legion is one of Marvel's most unpredictable mutant characters, and often operates as an antihero, which makes him the perfect addition for the MCU's Multiverse Saga. It's previously been noted that the Multiverse Saga has been focusing on, and will continue to focus on, antiheroes rather than morally sound superheroes. This has been evident in the debuts of Moon Knight, Werewolf By Night, the Thunderbolts, and even the development of the Scarlet Witch.

Legion's introduction to the MCU would make perfect sense in the Multiverse Saga, and could mark an explosion in Marvel Studios' integration of the MCU's mutants. Patrick Stewart previously showed interest in appearing as Professor X in Legion, though the series went in a different direction by using time travel and a younger Charles Xavier, but Stewart still has a chance to portray Haller's father in the MCU. Deadpool 3 will blow the world of mutants wide open, creating the best opportunity for intricate and complex characters such as Professor X and Legion to finally find a home in the MCU.

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