Laurence Fishburne is ready to take on another iconic role from a major franchise. During the Matrix reunion panel at New York Comic Con on Sunday, Oct. 12, the John Wick 2 actor, 64, teased that he’d love to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s iteration of the X-Men.
“So, at this point, I want one of two things,” he told the crowd. “The first thing would be: what do you think about Laurence Fishburne as Professor X?”
Professor Charles Xavier is a beloved hero known for his intelligence, his compassion, and his incredible telepathic abilities that make him one of the most powerful mutants of all time. The founder of the Xavier School for Gifted Youngsters, he sought to foster a peaceful and educational environment for others like him.
If chosen, Fishburne would be following in the footsteps of Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy, who both played Professor X for the 20th Century Fox version of X-Men. While the Hannibal star threw his hat in the ring for the pivotal role, another name that has been floated is Fear the Walking Dead actor Colman Domingo. While speaking at a different panel at the New York fan convention, McAvoy teased he was “excited” to see what comes next for the X-Men franchise as he weighed in on the casting rumors.
“I was a fan before I was an employee and I’ll be a fan again! You want it to be…I just can’t wait for it to be…Oh no, that was going to sound bad. It’s going to put a lot of pressure on people. Colman Domingo sounds amazing, though!”
Laurence Fishburne Addresses Possible Return for ‘The Matrix 5’
Warner Bros. officially confirmed that The Matrix 5 is in development with Drew Goddard at the helm as both the writer and the director. However, it’s unclear if any original cast members — including Fishburne, Carrie-Anne Moss or Keanu Reeves — will make an appearance. Back in 2021, Reeves told Empire he was open to a potential comeback if Lana Wachowski were to invite him back, but now that neither of the Wachowski sisters are directing, the possibility of his future involvement gets murkier.
As for Fishburne, while attending the Matrix panel, he quipped that it would depend on “how good it is.”
“If it’s great, then yeah, if it makes sense. I don’t know if it makes sense.”
Fishburne famously played Morpheus in the first three films in The Matrix franchise, but he did not return for The Matrix Resurrections in 2021. Instead, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II played a program version of Morpheus that had been created from Neo’s memories.
Regardless of whether he gets that phone call for X-Men or for The Matrix 5, Fishburne keeps his focus on the next project.
“People always ask me, ‘What’s your favorite thing you’ve ever done?’ And I’m always like, ‘The next one.’ Whatever the next thing is. It’s been 25 years since The Matrix, and maybe some freak out there has got a strange movie they want to do, and nobody knows if it’ll work. I’m your guy!”