Some Actors Not Appearing in X-Men: Apocalypse?

Learn who said they and another actor might not be appearing.

Story by Matt Cummings

The return of the X-Men franchise in 2014 was flat-out one of the riskiest projects, but the time-traveling X-Men: Days of Future Past proved it could successfully blend time travel with two universes of actors into a fun and rewarding project. The film also reset certain unpopular storylines from X1-X3 which had alienated fans and put the franchise itself on shaky ground.

One of the reasons for the success of DOFP was the return of Patrick Stewart as Professor Xavier and Ian McKellen as Magneto. Both of whom were and still are popular in the movie universe, and perhaps Stewart is as best known for his iconic performance as he is for Star Trek: The Next Generation's Captain Jean-Luc Picard.

But while fans could breathe a sigh of relief at Stewart's return, DOFP set up a whole new series of questions about the next film, X-Men: Apocalypse. Aside from the appearance of the titular baddie (played by Oscar Isaac), Apocalypse will also introduce younger versions of several of the original lineup, with the exception of Wolverine (who will be played again by Hugh Jackman). However, fans should not get comfortable with seeing Stewart or McKellen any time soon.

During an interview with Larry King, Stewart was asked if he would be in Director Bryan Singer’s sequel. He responded with this:

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. And so I don’t think we’ll be making an appearance.

This news should not come as a shock. Apocalypse will occur in the 1980's, and both Stewart and McKellen are frankly too old to reprise those roles for that time. It's more likely that the First Class duo of James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender will return as Xavier and Magneto, respectively. This also means that actors who played Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm in X1-X3 will be recast. Say goodbye to James Marsden, Famke Janssen, and Halle Berry, at least for now.

However, in reading that Stewart quote, it should be noted that he did use the phrase "I don't think," which means he and other older actors could show up in the follow-up to Apocalypse or even as post-credit cameos at the end of 2016 film. Now that the series is back on solid ground, Fox is expanding their mutant universe with Deadpool and Gambit in 2016, along with a possible Fantastic Four crossover, a move that might show that a universe with older X-Men characters might not be needed.

Still, we think there's a strong chance that the duo will return for at least one more film. They are extremely popular, even with McAvoy and Fassbender in the mix, and a swan song might just cap off one of the best reinventions in movie history.

X-Men: Apocalypse is set to be released on May 27, 2016 with Deadpool arriving on February 12, 2016 and Gambit dealing it out on October 7, 2016.

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