"Logan" comes out this weekend and Patrick Stewart has said that it might be his last time to ever play Charles Xavier in the X-Men movies. However, there is a Xavier in the X-Men movies still with James McAvoy's Professor X. Despite the two timelines leaving the character available, producer Shuler Donner told Vanity Fair that the movies have to move on from Charles Xavier and his relationship with Magneto.
Magneto and Charles Xavier relationship
The entire X-Men universe has been tied to the different philosophies of Charles Xavier and his friend-foe Magneto.
The first X-Men movie brilliantly introduced Magneto as a Holocaust survivor who sees how humans treat each other and he knows that mutants have much to fear. On the other hand, Charles sees the good in humans and wants a world where mutants and humans live in peace - together. The entire first trilogy focused on that and then when they rebooted things in "X-Men: First Class," it was the same story all over again.
The X-Men change in focus
When the next X-Men movie comes out, Donner said that they need to move the story away from the Charles Xavier conflict of interest with Magneto because it has gotten very old. Of course, the major rumors is that "X-Men: Supernova" will be the second time they attempt the Dark Phoenix storyline - and hopefully get it right this time.
Then, it is time to find a new focus for the mutants without relying so much on Charles and Magneto. As a matter of fact, Donner hinted that there won't be either character in the upcoming movies.
Who will replace Magneto and Charles Xavier?
The big question is how FOX will set up the X-Men movies without Charles Xavier to lead them and Magneto to lead the villains.
Replacing Magneto should be easy. While he is a fantastic character, there are plenty of other villains that can step up and do the job well. Replacing Professor X is even easier. The kids need a new leader and bringing back Scott Summers to lead them would open up a lot of ideas, especially if the Cable that they introduce in "Deadpool 2" remains the alternate dimension son of Scott and Jean Grey. It might change things enough to make The X-Men fresh once again.
