The Star Trek Book That Predicted Patrick Stewart's Marvel Future
When Patrick Stewart was approached to play Professor Charles Xavier in Bryan Singer's 2000 film "X-Men," he admitted that he knew nothing of the character. He only knew that Professor X was a powerful telepath who was frequently surrounded by costumed superheroes, which sounded unbearably boring to the actor. Stewart had just ended a decade-long stint playing Captain Picard on "Star Trek: The Next Generation" and wanted to take a break from sci-fi, fantasy, zip-up costumes, and telepathy. However, he changed his mind when Singer explained that, despite sporting similar bald heads, Captain Picard and Professor X were wholly different characters, and that "X-Men" was nothing like "Star Trek." Stewart agreed. He would go on to play Professor X in several additional films.
The casting of Stewart in the role of Charles Xavier fulfilled many dreams. For years, X-Men fans argued that Stewart should play Professor X, so his casting felt like the universe was in harmony. Not only did Stewart look like the drawings of Professor X from the X-Men comics, but he also communicated the same taciturn resolve possessed by the character. Stewart inhabiting both roles just felt right.
Indeed, the crossover between the X-Men and "Star Trek" had already genuinely manifested a few years before casting for Singer's first "X-Men" movie even took place. In 1998, author Michael Jan Friedman penned a crossover tie-in novel called "Planet X," a book wherein several of the X-Men were whisked into the future of a parallel universe, landing them on the bridge of the U.S.S. Enterprise-E. Yes, it's real. Yes, I've read it. Yes, it's as silly as you might expect.
What was Planet X about?
Fan service was everywhere in "Planet X." Storm and Captain Picard flirted a little bit, while Wolverine had some fun interactions with Worf. Presciently, there was a scene on the holodeck wherein Dr. Crusher had a conversation with a holographic version of Professor X. (Crusher noted to herself that the Professor and Captain Picard looked alike.) There were also cameos from two Starfleet officers named Kirby and Ditko, clearly named after Jack Kirby (the wild genius behind "Eternals") and Steve Ditko, two of the more prominent artists to work on Marvel Comics in the 1960s.
The story of "Planet X" concerns events taking place on a distant planet called Xhaldia. It seems that Xhaldia was undergoing a phenomenon similar to Earth in the X-Men comics, wherein a portion of its citizenry was suddenly and spontaneously mutating into superpowered vigilantes. This caused a social crisis on the planet, so Captain Picard was assigned to Xhaldia to investigate the mutations, quell the rising violence, and combat a new form of anti-mutant prejudice. Luckily, during this mission, an aperture appears in space-time, and the X-Men step through, armed with the wisdom of what to do in a situation like this.
Perhaps predictably, a species of spacebound villains then appears — the Draa'kon — and kidnaps the superpowered mutants off of Xhaldia. The Draa'kon, aiming to indoctrinate the mutant Xhaldians into their destructive military force, then attack the Federation.
"Planet X" only features the so-called Gold Team of the X-Men, meaning it stars Storm, Wolverine, Banshee, Shadowcat, Colossus, and Archangel. Fans of characters like Cyclops, Rogue, Beast, and Gambit will be disappointed. Well, as disappointed as one can be, reading a supremely silly novel from the '90s wherein the X-Men live on the U.S.S. Enterprise for a spell. For Trekkies, the book takes place after the events of 1996's "Star Trek: First Contact," but before the 1998 film "Star Trek: Insurrection."
Was Patrick Stewart cast as Professor X before or after Planet X?
For real sticklers, Worf mentions that he recently married Jadzia Dax — an event from the sixth season of "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine" — in "Planet X." Why Worf is on the Enterprise-E is not satisfyingly explained, other than he was hitching a ride on the Enterprise on his way to "a planning session" (whatever that means).
"Planet X" is actually the third crossover event between the X-Men and "Star Trek." In 1996, IDW published the single-issue "Star Trek/X-Men" comic book, written by Scott Lobdell, wherein several of Marvel's mutant zipped through a dimensional portal to meet Captain Kirk on the original Starship Enterprise. The story was set in motion after some naughty Shi'ar aliens from the X-Men's universe had used their powers to resurrect Gary Mitchell, a man who became a semi-deity in the original series "Star Trek" pilot episode.
"Star Trek/X-Men" was followed in 1998 by a sequel called "Second Contact," wherein the X-Men accidentally travel forward in time instead of back to their home universe. They, in turn, land on the Enterprise-E by mistake, and Wolverine wonders if "Kirk's people" are around. "Planet X" technically serves as a pseudo-sequel to "Second Contact," although one needn't have read those comics to understand the book. I assure you, nothing will help understand the book. It's wankery of the highest order, and one might feel a little sillier for having read it.
But, y'know, in a fun way.
Looking back, it's difficult to determine if Stewart had already been cast as Charles Xavier before Friedman began writing "Planet X" (which was published in 1998). The story goes that director Richard Donner, who had established the template for modern superhero blockbusters with 1978's "Superman: The Movie," was working with Stewart on the 1997 film "Conspiracy Theory" when the subject of the X-Men came up. Donner, who eventually served as a producer on Singer's first "X-Men" movie, apparently asked Stewart, perhaps in early 1997, if he would be interested in playing Professor X. "Planet X" didn't come out until 1998, however, so there's a chicken-and-egg situation here. How much did Friedman know?