Veteran actor Sir Patrick Stewart will make his final screen appearance as Professor Charles Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday, which is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on December 18. Stewart died on Wednesday at the age of 86 following a brief battle with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia.

The upcoming Marvel film will mark Stewart’s ninth on-screen appearance as the iconic X-Men character, whom he first portrayed in the 2000 film X-Men.

Paying tribute to the actor, Marvel Studios highlighted his contribution to the role, writing: “For more than 25 years, he brought a gravitas and profundity to the (character)… He returned to the role once more with 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday, his final on-screen appearance.”

Between his debut and his final appearance, Stewart reprised the role in several films, including X2: X-Men United (2003), X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), X-Men Origins: Wolverine (2009), The Wolverine (2013), X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014) and Logan (2017).

Alongside Professor Xavier, Stewart is widely recognised for playing Captain Jean-Luc Picard in the Star Trek franchise. Both characters became defining roles in his screen career.

In an interview with TV Insider published in July, Stewart reflected on returning as Professor Xavier in Avengers: Doomsday and spoke about his continued commitment to acting.

“As any actor my age will tell you, there are fewer and fewer available roles as we get older. That being said, I still continue to receive interesting offers and I love being challenged by new work,” he said. “I can’t imagine ever officially retiring. I’ll always and forever be an actor.”

The film’s co-directors, Joe and Anthony Russo, also paid tribute to Stewart, expressing their gratitude for the opportunity to work with him.

“We’ve been lucky enough to work with some of our childhood heroes. And Sir Patrick Stewart will always be one of them,” the brothers said. “A legendary actor with an unmistakable presence and an unmatched integrity. Thank you for entertaining all of us, sir. And for teaching us humanity, both on and off the screen.”