Set to return as Charles Xavier and Magneto, respectively, in Bryan Singer’s X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen have been speaking to The Wall Street Journal about the upcoming time-travel epic based on Chris Claremont’s legendary comic arc.

It’s already been confirmed in the film’s trailer that Stewart’s Professor X will share a scene with James McAvoy’s younger version of the character. Ian McKellen was asked if we can expect to see a similar scene between him and Michael Fassbender, who plays the younger Magneto in the film. “No, I don’t,” he replied, “I just stay by myself and I never meet my younger self.”

Discussing the older/young Xavier scene, Patrick Stewart said, “There was a certain happy charm about it, in that, when we shot that scene, it was James’ first day of work and it was my last day. So I was saying goodbye to X-MEN and he was saying hello. James has seen everything I have done, I’ve seen everything he has done. He is illustrating a time in Charles Xavier’s life which was very different from the time that I’ve been inhabiting in the previous three movies, and we just let that play out. I think we’ve both been looking forward to doing that scene immensely.”

Ian McKellen was then asked on whether he and Fassbender compared notes on playing Magneto. He responded, “No, no, I think he made it clear that he wanted to be his own Magneto and that suits the nature of the story and his part in it. And Bryan Singer clearly doesn’t mind that we’re, Fassbender and I, don’t look much like each other, although they have put out a poster where our faces are blended and you do a double take and think, ‘Ooh, my goodness! I didn’t know I was that good-looking’ and then realise the bit that’s good looking is not me but Fassbender.”

It’s been recently confirmed that Singer will follow DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with X-MEN: APOCALYPSE in 2016, which is a movie that both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are apparently unaware of. Stewart said, “Well I don’t know if Ian knows anything about this, but I know nothing about it. Another X-MEN movie has been announced and I said, ‘Yes, yes, yes, it opens in May,’ and they say, ‘No, no, no, not that one – the one after!’” Stewart then asked McKellen, “Has anybody called you, are you keeping something from me?” Ian McKellen responded, “No, no, no, I know nothing about it, which probably means we’re not in it.”

It’s already been heavily rumoured that X-MEN: APOCALYPSE will continue the story of the younger cast members, such as James McAvoy’s Charles Xavier and Michael Fassbender’s Magneto, which would suggest that Stewart and McKellen could both be done with the series. That said, with the various comic book stories at 20th Century Fox’s disposal, not to mention the whole time-travel element, nothing can be ruled out.

The DAYS OF FUTURE PAST comic arc features an alternative future where all mutants are hunted by Sentinels after a key senator was assassinated by a group of rogue mutants. Using time travel, the Kitty Pryde tries to warn the younger X-Men of what terror is to come so that they can stop the assassination and save the future. The film adaptation is going to have Wolverine be sent back in time by Kitty, mainly due to the audience’s love of Jackman’s Logan and the timeline meaning Kitty hasn’t yet been born ‘back in the day.’

Forming quite the ensemble cast, the film sees James McAvoy as the younger Professor X, Patrick Stewart as the older Professor X, Michael Fassbender as the younger Magneto, Ian McKellen as the older Magneto, Hugh Jackman as Wolverine, Halle Berry as Storm, Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde, Anna Paquin as Rogue, Shawn Ashmore as Iceman, Daniel Cudmore as Colossus, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique. Evan Peters as Quicksilver, Omar Sy as Bishop, Fan Binbing as Blink, Lucas Till as Havok, Peter Dinklage as Bolivar Trask and Josh Helman as a young William Stryker. It also seems as if Booboo Stewart will be playing Warpath, with an as yet unconfirmed role for Adan Canto. Then there are several strong reports that James Marsden will be returning as Cyclops.

X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST will be released on 23rd May, 2014.

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