The iconic sci-fi character James McAvoy volunteered to play: “I’m your man”
The X-Men franchise was in serious need of redemption by the time that the 2010s began, coming off the failure of X-Men: The Last Stand, which had ended the first trilogy of films on a sour note, and X-Men Origins: Wolverine, which proved that even Hugh Jackman’s stellar performance as Wolverine could save a doomed project.
Moreover, the films had closed off the timeline in a way that made it impossible for the old cast to return, so X-Men: First Class had the brilliant idea of making a prequel set in the 1960s.
The struggle of the mutants could be framed against the rise of the countercultural movement and the Cold War, with the climax set in the midst of the Cuban Missile Crisis, but the film faced a wall with finding actors who could replace the original cast, as Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen had been amazing in their roles as Professor Charles Xavier and Magneto, respectively, but against all odds, X-Men: First Class nailed the younger characters and provided a different look at their relationship.
James McAvoy was cast as a brash, younger version of Xavier, who is much more of a womaniser and entrepreneur, while Michael Fassbender showed true rage as Magneto, with the film detailing how his family was murdered in the Holocaust. McAvoy had been a rising star who had nailed some early roles, but his performance in X-Men: First Class proved he was capable of redefining a great character, doing such a great job at capturing the mannerisms of a young Stewart that it only seemed natural that he would be suggested for taking on another one of the actor’s great roles.
Stewart is remembered as being perhaps the greatest captain in the history of Starfleet by fans of Star Trek, and McAvoy seemed enthusiastic about potentially adopting the role.
“I mean, I’ve often talked about loving Star Trek, and jokingly, but also kind of seriously been like, if you ever want to do a young Jean-Luc Picard, I’m your man,” McAvoy said, “I’m probably getting close to being too old to do a young Jean-Luc Picard now. So there’s that.”
There was a brief moment in which the notion of a rebooted Star Trek: The Next Generation seemed like a real possibility, given that Paramount had made three successful films that featured a new cast as the characters from the original series.
Since The Next Generation was a more popular and successful show, bringing in a younger cast to do an origin film seemed like a logical idea, but unfortunately, the Star Trek franchise ended up going in a different direction after Star Trek Beyond underperformed in theatres, despite being well-received, while new Star Trek shows started being made at a rapid rate for CBS All-Access, which turned into Paramount+.
The idea of getting someone as a young Picard was seemingly discarded when Stewart returned to reprise his role in a sequel series. The Star Trek franchise is now in an awkward phase where it hasn’t grown any new fans, but has also managed to irritate any existing viewers because of the treatment of the chronology. Perhaps, Paramount should have just taken McAvoy up on his offer.
