Not long ago, Patrick Stewart made it clear that he and Ian McKellen would not be appearing in the next mutant blockbuster, X-Men: Apocalypse. Their joint exit lined up with Bryan Singer’s plans for the sequel which will revolve around the younger X-cast. However, their retirement from the franchise seems to have been rather short lived!
Speaking with Oregon Live, Stewart confirmed that he won’t be appearing as Professor X in Apocalypse… but both he and McKellen’s villainous mutant, Magneto will be back in two separate movies:
“Magneto, Ian McKellen, is certainly going to be in [X-Men: Apocalypse]. And what I’m very excited about is that we have been talking about a Wolverine movie, which would team Hugh Jackman and myself together. Wolverine and Professor Xavier. That would be a very different sort of “X-Men” from the four movies that I’ve already done.”
Bearing in mind Singer’s intentions for Apocalypse, McKellen would most likely put in a cameo appearance. Plus, the timeline erasures caused by Days Of Future Past would offer Magneto the possibility to appear in any future sequels.
For the third Wolverine outing the inclusion of Professor X would mark a shift in the standalone Wolvie pics. So far the adamantium-clawed mutant has embarked on two solo flicks without the help from his familiar X-friends. Considering the Prof’s been a rather influential figure in his life, uniting the pair for a spinoff makes sense.
X-Men: Apocalypse opens on May 27, 2016 followed by The Wolverine 3 on March 3, 2017.