Best friends Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen won’t be in Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse, after all. Both returned to the roles of Professor Xavier and Magneto respectively in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past and performed alongside James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender’s younger X-Men: First Class counterparts.
Stewart broke the news on Larry King Now, explaining why he and McKellen wouldn’t fit into the story:
“I was learning quite a lot more about it last night and it is going to be looking very much at the earlier lives of all our characters,” Stewart told King. “And so I don’t think we’ll be making an appearance.” (Via Variety)
The decision makes perfect sense. X-Men: Days of Future Past was a time travel story and allowed Singer to put the 2000 X-Men cast alongside the cast from X-Men: First Class. No details have been revealed about the plot of Bryan Singer’s anticipated sequel, but time travel probably won’t be a factor. Oscar Isaac’s titular character, however, definitely will be.
(Via Variety)
