'Wolverine 3' release date news 2016: Film could be the last for Patrick Stewart as Professor X

The still untitled "Wolverine 3" film isn't coming to the big screen until next year, but updates about it have surfaced ahead of time.

As fans already know, the upcoming movie is going to be the last for main star Hugh Jackman as the iconic clawed hero. He has previously announced that after 16 years of playing the title character, he is now ready to pass on the role.

But reports say that it's not only Jackman who is going to say goodbye to a character after so long. In an interview with ITV, Patrick Stewart, who plays as Professor Charles Xavier in the "X-Men" films, mentioned that the forthcoming "Wolverine" film is possibly his last appearance in the franchise.

"I would imagine this is probably the end of this franchise for me," Stewart said. "But the thing about science fiction and fantasy is that you can never, ever say it's the end, it's over," he added.

Those who followed the entire "X-Men" franchise may recall that Professor X has once been killed off but still returned thanks to the timeline rebooting. So, it's speculated that if Stewart's character will be killed off again, there's still a possibility that he can come back again if he wants to since 20th Century Fox can make it possible however they want.

But as of now, Stewart has already expressed an impending retirement from the role, and a new actor may soon be taking over. Before his departure, though, Stewart teased that his character in the upcoming "Wolverine 3" will be nothing like anyone has seen before. He didn't give away more details than that, but fans can expect something exciting to come.

The new film will be the ninth time that Jackman will play the character on the big screen. James Mangold has taken over the director's seat while David James Kelly is the one writing the script. "Wolverine 3" will premiere on March 3, 2017.