Our favourite X-Men – Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen – won’t be suiting up for the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.
Fan favourites Sir Patrick Stewart and Sir Ian McKellen weren’t expected to return in the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. But now that seems to be confirmed by Stewart himself as he admits that a cameo in the X-Men sequel is unlikely.
But does that mean they’ve stepped out of the franchise forever?
Our pals at Yahoo! Movies snagged an exclusive interview between Patrick Stewart and Larry King… and the 74-year-old actor revealed he won’t be back for X-Men: Apocalypse.
“No,” he said rather abruptly, when asked about his appearance in Apocalypse. “Nor Sir Ian McKellen, either.”
Of course, it’s not exactly a huge surprise.
X-Men: Apocalypse is said to continue the story of the younger X-Men led by James McAvoy as Professor X. And since the film is set in the 1970s, it would make it rather difficult to shoehorn in a cameo for Stewart and McKellan.
But while he may not be starring in the film, it seems Patrick Stewart still has a rather keen interest in the X-Men.
“I was learning quite a lot more about it last night,” he said. “And it is going to be looking very much at the earlier lives of all our characters. And so I don’t think we’ll be making an appearance.”
Of course, that doesn’t necessarily mean that we’ve seen that last of Stewart’s Charles Xavier. After all, with a number of X-Men spin-offs in the works, it’s entirely possible that the older Professor X could appear alongside them.
But will we ever see them back in the main franchise?
I get the feeling that 20th Century Fox is keen to develop the next wave of mutant heroes… and that means focussing on the exploits of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender. But will we see Stewart and McKellan back in the suits?
For now, we’ll have to wait and see.
Would you like to see Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellan don the suits once more? Will we see any other classic X-Men in Apocalypse? Let us know what you think in the comments below…