To me, my X-Men rumors!

(Sorry, I always wanted to write something like that.)

Here’s a juicy tidbit from Professor Charles Xavier himself, Patrick Stewart, who’s currently promoting a new indie movie called ‘Match.’ Asked about his possible status for future ‘X-Men’ movies by The Oregonian, Stewart confirmed that it’s “very unlikely” he’ll be a part of the upcoming ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ movie that will see young versions of the classic X-Men lineup (including Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, and Alexandra Shipp as Storm) face off against Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse. But Stewart did reveal that Ian McKellen’s Magneto will make an ‘Apocalypse’-tic appearance, and that his Professor X could be turning up in the next solo Wolverine movie alongside Hugh Jackman. Here’s the quote:

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.

Since ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is supposed to be set during the 1980s, it might be tricky to fit McKellen’s older Magneto into the film (Flashback bookends? More time-travel shenanigans? A ton of pancake makeup?). Wolverine and older Xavier is a pairing that makes a lot more sense, and could be pretty great; the savage, physical hero and the philosophical, thoughtful one. ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ is scheduled for release on May 27, 2016. The untitled ‘Wolverine’ sequel (which I am calling ‘The TWOlverine’ until told otherwise) is currently on the books for a March 3, 2017 opening.