X-Men Star James McAvoy Wants to Play Young Jean-Luc Picard

James McAvoy's performance as Charles Xavier/Professor X in the recent X-Men films has been beloved by fans and called him a great successor to Patrick Stewart, who originated the role way back in the first X-Men film. Now, it turns out that McAvoy wants to play another iconic character played by Stewart.

In an interview with Collider, McAvoy, who is a Star Trek fan, expressed his interest in playing young Jean-Luc Picard, a role that has been played by Stewart since the beginning of Star Trek: The Next Generation in 1987. However, he also admitted that there is a hurdle to the possibility of him playing the character.

"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. "But I'm probably getting close to being too old to do a young Jean-Luc Picard now. So there's that. [...] But then, now we live in the land of remakes, so there's always a chance. There's always a chance that you're going to get on a show. But the only one that comes to mind is Star Trek, I think. I've always loved it. Always."

McAvoy is now 42 years old so it is understandable why he thinks he doesn't have a chance to play young Picard anymore. After all, Stewart was around 47 years old when Star Trek: The Next Generation started so there is a five-year gap between McAvoy's current age and Stewart's age when he started playing Picard. But still, we cannot discount the possibility of McAvoy playing the character. He could still do it through a flashback in Star Trek: Picard or if Paramount+ wants to do a Star Trek show surrounding Picard's days before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation.

Also Read: James McAvoy Addresses Possible Return as Professor X in MCU X-Men Reboot

If it ever happens, there is no doubt that McAvoy will deliver a terrific performance as young Picard just like how he was great as young Charles Xavier. There is also no reason to believe that Stewart wouldn't give his blessing. He might also be delighted if McAvoy will get the opportunity. If the producers of Star Trek will consider the idea of exploring young Picard, at least they know which actor they can call first.