Sir Ian McKellen: I don’t think I will play Magneto again
Sir Ian McKellen is saying goodbye to the X-Men universe – after admitting he doesn’t think he will reprise his role as Magneto.
The veteran actor has played the villainous character across four X-Men films, from 2000’s X-Men to last year’s X-Men: Days of Future Past.
Following confusion over whether he will appear in upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse, Sir Ian has confirmed he is not involved in the film – with Michael Fassbender again playing a younger version of Magneto
He told Digital Spy of a rumoured return as Magneto: “I haven’t heard that. I don’t think I am, no. They’re currently making a film, and I’m not in it.”
He joked: “Michael Fassbender, poor dear, can’t get any work so we let him do it. He’s got three movies coming out this year, you’d think he’d let me do one of them!”
When asked about the end of the X-Men universe, he said: “You like to be in films that people like to see. I’ve always thought the X-Men stories were superior to any other fantasy movies because they were about something.
“X-Men is about what it is to be a different, and what it is to be a mutant, and society’s attitude to difference.
“That’s an important thing to discuss, and it was done in such an entertaining way in the films that I was very happy to be part of them – but I’ve other things to be doing.”
The star recently caused a stir by locking lips with his X-Men co-star Patrick Stewart – who plays Magneto’s rival Professor X.
