Patrick Stewart died at the age of 86 on Wednesday 28 October at his home in Los Angeles, with the news having just been made official. The British actor, who became a towering figure in science fiction thanks to his roles as Captain Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek and Professor Charles Xavier in X-Men, leaves behind an immense career, defined by characters whose humanity reached far beyond the bounds of their respective franchises. His death carries a particular resonance for Marvel fans, since Patrick Stewart will appear one final time as Professor Xavier in Avengers Doomsday, due in cinemas on 18 December 2026. The news was announced by his long-time representative, Kelly Bush Novak, who explained that Patrick Stewart died surrounded by his loved ones, after a brief battle with Alzheimer's disease and Lewy body dementia.
Before blowing up the box office in Hollywood, Patrick Stewart was first and foremost a man of the theatre. Trained in the British classical repertoire, he already had solid Shakespearean credentials when he was cast, in the late 1980s, as Jean-Luc Picard in Star Trek The Next Generation. At the time, it was far from a safe bet: remember that Gene Roddenberry, the creator of Star Trek, doubted a bald British actor could carry this new series, which was meant to take over from the one led by William Shatner and Leonard Nimoy. Patrick Stewart himself had little faith in the show's longevity, to the point of assuming his six-year contract would never run its full course. He was quite wrong, as the series ultimately ran for seven seasons, between 1987 and 1994, and Picard became one of the best-loved captains in the Star Trek universe.
In 2000, Patrick Stewart became Charles Xavier in the first X-Men, directed by Bryan Singer. Opposite Ian McKellen, his long-time friend who played Magneto, Stewart created a Professor Xavier who was wise, kindly and deeply convinced that humans and mutants could coexist. He would return to the role in several films, including X2, X-Men The Last Stand, X-Men Days of Future Past and Logan. The latter seemed to offer a particularly powerful conclusion to Xavier's story, until Marvel brought the character back in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness in 2022. His role in Avengers Doomsday will therefore be another unmissable date with the X-Men universe, but also a final chance to see the actor in the part that marked a whole generation of viewers. Word has it that he dies for good this time, but you didn't hear it from us...
