Sir Patrick Stewart’s Last Movie Before His Death Is Officially Hugh Jackman’s Best-Reviewed Movie of All Time
Sir Patrick Stewart died on Wednesday, October 28, 2026, at his home in Los Angeles. He was 86. According to his longtime spokesperson, Kelly Bush Novak, he died in the loving care of his wife, Sunny Ozell, after what the family called “a brief and poignant journey” with Alzheimer’s disease and Lewy body dementia. His diagnoses had not been made public before his death.
As tributes pour in from around the world, many fans are revisiting the final film released in his lifetime. In a twist few would have predicted, it is a family murder mystery about talking sheep, and it is officially the best-reviewed movie of his longtime friend and co-star Hugh Jackman’s career.
A Final Role, Voiced With Grace
The Sheep Detectives, released by Amazon MGM Studios on May 8, 2026, stars Jackman as George Hardy, a shepherd who reads detective novels aloud to his flock each night. When George is found murdered, his sheep, who understand far more than anyone realized, set out to solve the case.
Directed by Kyle Balda and written by Craig Mazin, the creator of Chernobyl, the film is based on Leonie Swann’s bestselling novel. Critics compared it to Babe meets Knives Out.
Stewart voiced Sir Ritchfield, the dignified elder of the flock. He was part of a remarkable voice cast that included Julia Louis-Dreyfus as the determined investigator Lily, Bryan Cranston as the loner Sebastian, and Chris O’Dowd, Regina Hall, Bella Ramsey, Brett Goldstein and Rhys Darby. Emma Thompson, Hong Chau, Nicholas Braun and Nicholas Galitzine appeared on screen alongside Jackman.
Higher Than Logan
When reviews arrived in late April, the film opened at 96% on Rotten Tomatoes. That was higher than Logan, Jackman and Stewart’s acclaimed 2017 farewell to the X-Men, which sits at 93%. It also topped Bad Education, at 94%, making The Sheep Detectives the best-reviewed film of Jackman’s career.
The score held. The film remains “Certified Fresh” in the mid-90s with critics and carries a 96% audience score, a rare moment when critics and moviegoers agreed almost completely.
The film struggled at the box office in a crowded spring, but it found its audience on streaming. By June 30, it had reached No. 1 on Prime Video in the United States. It arrived on Blu-ray and DVD on August 25.
Now, after Stewart’s death, many viewers are returning to it to hear one of the most recognizable voices in entertainment one more time.
Two Friends, Three Decades
The film carries special meaning because of the bond between its two stars.
Jackman and Stewart first worked together in Bryan Singer’s X-Men in 2000. Jackman was a largely unknown Australian actor; Stewart was already a legend thanks to his seven seasons as Captain Jean-Luc Picard on Star Trek: The Next Generation. As Wolverine and Professor Charles Xavier, they became one of the defining partnerships of the modern superhero era.
That partnership reached its emotional peak in Logan. Directed by James Mangold, the film followed an aging Logan caring for a frail Xavier in a bleak near-future. Its depiction of Xavier’s failing mind made it one of the most moving performances of Stewart’s career, and audiences now see it in a different light given the illness he faced in his final months. Logan became the first superhero film nominated for the Oscar for Best Adapted Screenplay.
After news of Stewart’s death broke, Jackman shared a tribute on Instagram, saying the world had lost “one of the greats of stage and screen.” He added that he would miss his friend all his days.
A Legacy That Spanned Six Decades
Born in Mirfield, Yorkshire, in 1940, Stewart grew up in a working-class family and found refuge in acting as a teenager. He trained at the Bristol Old Vic Theatre School and spent years with the Royal Shakespeare Company, building a reputation as one of Britain’s finest classical actors long before Hollywood discovered him.
Star Trek: The Next Generation made him a global star in 1987. He brought Picard back for three seasons of Star Trek: Picard between 2020 and 2023. He was knighted in 2010, won two Olivier Awards, and earned praise for stage work ranging from Macbeth to Waiting for Godot, the latter alongside his close friend Ian McKellen.
He also showed a playful side, voicing characters on Seth MacFarlane’s American Dad and Family Guy and appearing in Ricky Gervais’ Extras. MacFarlane said Stewart was one of those icons everyone somehow assumed would always be around.
Stewart never wanted to stop working. In a TV Insider interview published in July, he said he couldn’t imagine ever officially retiring, and that he would always be an actor.
One More Performance Still to Come
Although The Sheep Detectives was the last film released during his lifetime, audiences will see Stewart on the big screen at least once more. He reprised Professor X for Marvel Studios’ Avengers: Doomsday, which opens in theaters on December 18, 2026.
Marvel Studios said it was deeply saddened by his passing and called him a singular talent who defined Charles Xavier for generations of fans. The film, already tracking for one of the biggest openings in history, will now also serve as a farewell.
A Fitting Final Chapter
It may seem surprising that one of the last chapters of Stewart’s career involved voicing a sheep. But it fits the man. Stewart spent his life moving easily between Shakespeare and science fiction, between Broadway and cartoons, and he rarely took himself too seriously.
That his final release became the most acclaimed film of Hugh Jackman’s career is a fitting coda to one of Hollywood’s great friendships. For fans looking to say goodbye, The Sheep Detectives offers a gentle way to do it.
