One X-Men star has turned down Star Trek before but will he again?
By Chad Porto
Star Trek 2009 had a pretty awesome cast. Brought together to tell more stories of the original USS Enterprise, the cast did a great job resembling the original group from 1966. The crew looked, felt, and expanded the roles that so many iconic actors and actresses took up before them. While some couldn't get past Zachary Quinto as Spock or Chris Pine as James Kirk, a lot of fans were very fond of their performances.
Ourselves included. Yet, one name that was left off of the cast and crew was former X-Men star James McAvoy. The man who would play a young Charles Xavier was set to join the cast in an unnamed role but would end up turning the part down. It's unsure what the role was, but fair chance it was that of a Romulan.
Since he turned it down, fans of Star Trek are now pitching him for another role in the franchise—that of Jean-Luc Picard. McAvoy is a great actor, so he'd be right for the role. After all, there isn't a role that he wouldn't be good for. With his interest in the Star Trek brand in the past, and his connection to former Picard actor, Patrick Stewart, many fans seem to think this is the right call.
After all, McAvoy played a younger version of Stewart's character in X-Men, as both men played Charles Xavier, just at different stages in their lives. So why wouldn't McAvoy make perfect sense to play a younger Jean-Luc Picard? Well, for starters, it's rather on the nose.
Yes, he played a younger version of Stewart's Charles Xavier but it's one thing to do that idea once. Any more times after and you risk ending up being a bit of a joke. It's a cute joke to make, but bringing in McAvoy to play a new Picard, would just be a bad joke brought to life. Yes, he's good enough to do the part, but because of his ties to Stewart, it would seem like a comedic bit. One that fans everywhere weren't asking for.
The on-the-nose nature of the casting makes it completely unappealing. We're not sure there should be a new Picard actor, let alone new stories being told with that character. Were certainly not on board with McAvoy taking over the role, simply based on a lark that some fans like having.