Sir Ian McKellen too Old for the Magneto Movie?

Sir Ian McKellen talks about the Magneto movie and Patrick Stewart's cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine!

There's been all sort of rumors about the proposed X-Men Origins: Magneto movie, but according to Sir Ian McKellen, he's not going to be in it:

"There's meant to be a Magneto script floating around, but I've not read it, so I suspect it wouldn't involve me. I think it would be about the younger Magneto, and the most I could hope for would be to top and tail that. They can't have someone whose face is as lined as mine any longer!

McKellen also commented on a "young" Patrick Stewart appearing as Prof. Xavier in X-Men Origins: Wolverine:

"Ooh, he was very pleased with himself that he was going in to be in Wolverine. It was only an hour's work!"

Brent Sprecher
10/14/2009
Empire

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63 Comments

	Well he still looks pretty good for someone who's supposed to be playing a Holocaust survivor. Mercenary - 10/14/2009, 10:13 AM
	Merc@ hahaha yeah and it makes you laugh cus its supposed to be in the not too distant future aswell..lol :P teabag - 10/14/2009, 10:15 AM
	tooo bad. He was great as Mags DarthMulder - 10/14/2009, 10:25 AM
	I hope he comes back, even just to cameo. He's a great actor! @Merc: In the comics, all mutants (according to Chris Claremont) are more "durable" than standard humans, no matter what their powers are. They are stronger and have greater stamina. Perhaps that slows down the aging process? Bijous - 10/14/2009, 10:29 AM
	I personally didn't agree with the whole Holocaust background in the first movie. It looked fantastic, and it was true to form, but that made Magneto's character around 70 when the first X-Men movie took place. The studio could have easily used other scenarios to showcase Magneto's discriminatory past. MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 10:31 AM
	He was Magneto No one else can pull it off as well as he did tyko450 - 10/14/2009, 10:31 AM
	tyko@ ive heard that alot about McKellen ..lol :) teabag - 10/14/2009, 10:36 AM
	eh... @ Multi: they had this very seasoned old actor to play Magneto, and the chracter he was playing was in fact a Nazi death camp survivor. So I guess my question is "huh"? I think they did pretty well considering. What else should they have done? Have his origin take place in Cambodia under the Khmer Rouge? DarthMulder - 10/14/2009, 10:36 AM
	Maybe Mags fell into the Atlantic after WWII, froze and was thawed out by Namor... Bijous - 10/14/2009, 10:40 AM
	lol @ Bijous DarthMulder - 10/14/2009, 10:41 AM
	IAN shouldnt be in MAGNETO ORIGINS!! Its a [frick]ing ORIGIN ffs!! ; D CLIVE OWEN is the man for the role!! By the way, JMAN @ (If your reading), What was the results of your MAGNETO POLL man??? It disappeared?! LEEE777 - 10/14/2009, 10:48 AM
	@Bijous Eh, Claremont has an answer for everything. Mercenary - 10/14/2009, 10:51 AM
	Darth@ Tony Stark should of been in Vietnam too but things are rejigged in the comics and film...why not Magneto to make it more relevant!! :) teabag - 10/14/2009, 10:51 AM
	@Darth: No buddy, but there are plenty of examples of racial or religious persecution in Europe that could have established Magneto as a younger man: - Albanian imposed statewide atheism. They expelling, tortured and killed thousands of theists between 1946 and 1960. Russia had a similar situation. - The 1968 Polish political crisis that resulted in the final exodus of Jews from Poland My personal favorite and the most relevant: - The 'Ethnic Cleansing' in Bosnia and Herzegovina which took place between 1992 and 1995. It is considered the most horrendous mass genocide that took place in Europe since WWII. That would have created the PERFECT scenario for Magneto and Prof X to meet as soldiers in a wartime environment. If the 'Near Future' the X-Men movie referred to equal about, let's say, 10 years; that would have made Magneto's character around age 40. Thoughts? MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 10:52 AM
	He is a great actor none the less, but physicaly inadequate! Spock - 10/14/2009, 10:54 AM
	To old you say??? For an origin film, of course!!! Clive Owen would be ideal. And then bring in Ed Harris for Magneto as Xavier's headmaster in "First CLass"!!! Shaman - 10/14/2009, 10:55 AM
	@Shaman: Have you drawn a 1940's Cap yet? MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:00 AM
	it depends on how far back they go. they made xavier look younger in X3, but didn't need a new actor. but if they're doing an origin story for the mags movie, then this is kind of a no brainer. of course he's too old. CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 11:01 AM
	Multi@ thats what i mean by making the character more relevant :) teabag - 10/14/2009, 11:01 AM
	Mulit- Actually , i haven't :( I might eventually, when i find a good Jensen Ackles pic that i want to draw ;P Can't wait to see your costume though :)) Shaman - 10/14/2009, 11:01 AM
	@CornDog: Dude, that doesn't count. Prof. X was in the movie for, like, 8 seconds...and it still looked like a wax dummy. No CGI-McKellen for Magneto! @Multi: Impressive history knowledge you've got there. I think Bosnia would be a perfect fit for a more modern Magneto origin. They did it with Iron Man; why not with Magneto? @Shaman: lol...you've got one for every article, don't you? Bijous - 10/14/2009, 11:02 AM
	@ multi thats a very good point. but at the same time, these x-films haven't really been following any kind of timeline, lol. if so, then gambit is in his mid forties when he finally joins the xmen. CorndogBurglar - 10/14/2009, 11:02 AM
	@teabag: Yeah buddy! Don't you think an awesome opening scene for X-Men would have been the Prof and Magneto using their powers for the first time in the middle of a firefight in Bosnia? MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:03 AM
	@multi: You bring up a lot of good scenarios, however I can still understand why they would choose to stick with the WW2 scenario. It is more known, at least by the American public (WW2 that is). Even though it would have been a great opportunity to create a dialouge about those conflicts, it would have taken more screen time to make the audience connect with it than just to say "hey, you guys know Hitler, right? Well then you know he sucks." Its just so much more iconic and easy to roll with. Plus think of at least the initial fan back-lash if they would have changed it. I'm pulled both ways, as a logic fan it annoys the hell out of me that magneto is still healthy as a horse with a six pack that no matter how hard I try I could never attain, but as a comic fan I am glad they haven't altered his origin. Mercenary - 10/14/2009, 11:04 AM
	@CDB: Please don't get me started on W:O. I don't have the time to spare today. @Mercenary: But if they would have used Bosnia (see my above comment) it wouldn't have really changed the origin of when x and Mags met, thus, sticking to canon. If you're thoughts as to why they used WWII for the story are correct, I think it was a cop out. MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:04 AM
	But Poni, aren't you the guy thats all about sticking to the comics? In the comics he was a child in Nazi Germany! So McKellen looked a bit sprightly for a man that age, he is a mutant like Bjious pointed out, It would make sense if they were more durable than us norms. As for the solo movie, well, if they do an origin then obviously Sir McKellen's presence would have to be limited to a cameo at the end or something, but what they could do is follow the Joseph storyline from the comics when Magneto was made a much younger man and lost his memory..that would also be a great way to refresh the X movies. Never happen i Know! RorMachine - 10/14/2009, 11:04 AM
	@Ror: Yes, I would also like him to appear, at least in cameo. It would give it a sort of "legitimacy," in my mind and tie it to the X-Men films. Bijous - 10/14/2009, 11:07 AM
	Well, Patrick Stewart's not exactly a spring chicken, and they were supposed to be old friends. Plus the holocaust survivor parallel was the most obvious choice for emotional impact. Yeah, there are other scenarios they might have used, but they went with the one that needed the least exposition for the audience to understand. I love McKellen, but they were pushing it with his advanced age in the first movie. If they did a solo film now I'd spend the whole two hours worried that he was gonna fall and break a hip. Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:07 AM
	Great points, but I want to see a lot more PHYSICAL action from Magneto, Not a lot of standing & sitting around or pointing his hands @ stuff leviateing it. Spock - 10/14/2009, 11:09 AM
	SHAMAN @ Hell Yeah, or even ED HARRIS for X4 as well!!!!! Very cool! LEEE777 - 10/14/2009, 11:10 AM
	@Ror: I'm always about sticking to the comics! But if I follow what YOU'RE saying right now then no one should make a movie based on any Marvel character. If they didn't update the timelines for the movies Tony Stark would have been around 60 in the Iron Man movie. And, if they reboot the X-Men movies in about 5 -10 years, the entire team would be in their 50s and Magneto would be close to 90 years old. It's about updating the timeline the characters live in to make the movies relevant to when they're released. Don't you think? MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:11 AM
	@Spock: Maybe it was just me, but I thought McKellen looked really silly in that scene in X3 where he was walking down the road and hand-waving all those trucks out of the way. Ian seems like a regal sort of guy, and the slight movements to control his powers seemed to have much more impact. Like the escape scene in X2. I mean really, which of those two scenes were better? Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:13 AM
	Bijous- LOL, it's what i aim at! Eventually, i will have a drawing for every topic LOL :P LEEE- Good point, and X-4 is looooooong over due!!! Shaman - 10/14/2009, 11:15 AM
	@ Multi: yeah something like that would have worked out just fine if they had wanted to go with a younger Magneto. I wouldn't have minded that except that I just really dig McKellen. No doubt they could have found another genocide like conflict in which to set Magneto's origin. Bosnia in particular is a good idea. It certianly COULD have been just as good if they had went that way. But with Singer's X Men movies, he handled that side of htings just fine IMO and I was quite satisfied. But of course that leads us inexorably back to square one and the problem of an actor that's too old to play the role again and some mighty big shoes to fill by whoever they get. Honestly though... Personally I just don't even think they should go there. I don't think there should be a magneto Origins movie at all. DarthMulder - 10/14/2009, 11:15 AM
	@Darth: Neither do I. I also think that Ian is done with the Magneto role, which means re-cast. . . something I'm not a fan of when continuing a storyline. MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:17 AM
	@ Merc: Your points are valid indeed. @ Shaman: I agree with MPP... would you please consider doing a 1940's Cap? Pleeez? That would ROCK! DarthMulder - 10/14/2009, 11:19 AM
	Worrying about the ages of the actors and shifting timelines for the movies is actually kind of pointless when you consider the fact that Peter Parker has been in his mid-20's for over 40 years in the comics and that hasn't bothered anyone! Why should it be different for the movies to muck with the timelines? Bijous - 10/14/2009, 11:20 AM
	OWEN for ORIGINS!! SHAMAN @ It is man, way overdue!! Imagine ED HARRIS having a one on one with MICHAEL BIEHN as CABLE!!! LEEE777 - 10/14/2009, 11:20 AM
	@Poni: Actually Stark would be closer to eighty! Likewise, Peter Parker would be 62 years old at least, given that the book debuted in 1962. That's why I'd love to see a CBM done as a period piece. For me, The story of the Fantastic Four is so closely tied to the 1960's space program that it would have been an ideal candidate. Likewise I'd love to see a Superman film set in late 30's early 40's - drawing inspiration from the Max Fleischer cartoons. Of course, I'd probably be alone in enjoying those, but it doesn't make me want to see them any less. Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:22 AM
	Wasn't Tony Stark's original origin actually in Korea, not Vietnam? Does anyone know? Bijous - 10/14/2009, 11:24 AM
	he was pretty cool as erik but not menacing enough. not very muscular and too old Denn1s - 10/14/2009, 11:25 AM
	Poni..Well, thats a good argument. I don't really know how that sort of thing should be approached. They got away with it in X Men though. Obviously in a few years they wont be able to. In saying that, maybe its better to just set the movies when the stories were written like Watchmen did. Either way I'm cool with it as long as the themes of the stories stay in tact..like Iron Man did. RorMachine - 10/14/2009, 11:27 AM
	@Bijous: It was Vietnam. That was 1963, I believe, and America was involved to an extent even then. Velox - 10/14/2009, 11:29 AM
	@Bijous: If they want to appeal to a larger audience than just comic readers, then YES, they have to make the timelines relevant to the story. @LEEE: Clive would be a great choice! @Ror: I'm going to try to write a treatment for a scene involving X and Mags in Bosnia once I finish my costume workload. MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:29 AM
	@Multi: No, you mis-read me (or I didn't write it clearly). My point is that, yes, they should update the stories. What I was saying is that nobody who reads comments cares that the stories are being continuously modernized, so why care if they're modernized for the movies. I couldn't read a Spider-Man comic if they were all wearing those awful 60's clothes and saying "groovy" and "daddy-o" all of the time (wasn't MJ a beatnik?). Yes, write that treatment! I would love to see it! Bijous - 10/14/2009, 11:41 AM
	He's too old for an origins movie and too old for a current movie as well! We need a younger, more threatening Magneto despite what a good actor McKellen is!!! JoshW - 10/14/2009, 11:42 AM
	I'm more excited for the Hobbit movie. X-men has gone to hell. Sir Ian is a good actor (loved him in Apt. Pupil), but I'm not gonna sit through another X-Tragedy. Marvel and fox are gonna have to put in some more effort and work in order to get my $8.50 supermarioworldE - 10/14/2009, 11:56 AM
	@Bijous: You said - "Worrying about the ages of the actors and shifting timelines for the movies is actually kind of pointless when you consider the fact that Peter Parker has been in his mid-20's for over 40 years in the comics and that hasn't bothered anyone! Why should it be different for the movies to muck with the timelines?" That's why I answered - "If they want to appeal to a larger audience than just comic readers, then YES, they have to make the timelines relevant to the story. " MultiPurposePoni - 10/14/2009, 11:58 AM
	Multi@ 100% :) teabag - 10/14/2009, 12:03 PM
	hell fcuking yes! that's not even a question. he was to old for all the x-men films. someone typed clive owen. i think he'd be perfect. mckellen should of never been magneto. InFamouslyCool - 10/14/2009, 12:14 PM
	@Multi: Okay, I guess we're on the same page. Yes? No? Ian McKellen as Magneto: Bijous - 10/14/2009, 12:15 PM
	@ velox both scene were good & the brige seen really demostrated his power. But taking from the Comics & the Original X-men cartoon he was way more physical, had muscles, long hair and all. Spock - 10/14/2009, 12:40 PM
	DarthMulder- Well i do have a shitload of shit to do... but i'll put it on the list for you boys ;P Shaman - 10/14/2009, 12:48 PM
	He's too old for an origin movie. He can be in a few scenes as a reference or something along those lines. Other than that, get someone younger. BmanHall - 10/14/2009, 1:17 PM
	Well yeah he does look very much like a Holocaust survivor and for age it gives me the feeling that he went towards a lot of obstacles and thast why magneto is who he is and they can always use what they did in x men 3 by which they made him and patrick look much younger for an origins hes way to old depending which way youre looking at it. Weiner123 - 10/14/2009, 5:19 PM
	I agree with everyone's choice of Clive Owen for Mags. It's really a no-brainer. hewilldefytheirgravity - 10/14/2009, 5:34 PM
	How about Caspard Ulliel for young Magneto? He's about 25 or so right now and he played freakin' Hannibal Lecter, so I'm sure he could definitely pull it off. MovieTheaterLad - 10/14/2009, 6:05 PM
	I agree with Clive as younger Magneto too! Whiten his hair to make it look prematurely white and you have an absolutely scary Erik Lehnsherr! Ralph fines would make an Excellent younger version of Professor X! DDD - 10/14/2009, 6:18 PM
	He's still a great actor, they should have him narrate the movie, and have a few relatively unknowns to player the younger versions, heck maybe thrown in another big name for a part. He could set a great tone for the movie. Clement - 10/14/2009, 11:41 PM
	Clement, i'm with you in saying that Ian should narate. Great idea to anyone who thought it up ;) Shaman - 10/15/2009, 8:37 AM
	oh x-men movies what a love hate relationship we have :) BossWalsh - 10/15/2009, 5:34 PM
	@MultiPurposePoni If a character was originally in his prime doing his thing in the 1930's then keep it that way I hate when a classic character is made to be relevant to the modern times. Id prefer to see a spiderman film set in the 60's then modern day it just seems ridiculous that they cant make a film set in its original state. Before you know it Cap America will be fighting AlQuida instead of the Nazis. Green Goblin pretty much has an Iron man suit with less bells and whistles when he should just be wearing a creepy Halloween costume with his glider being the only thing that sticks out as advanced technology I could go on and on about cbm mistakes but id be up all night pissing to many people off :P BossWalsh - 10/15/2009, 5:50 PM
	@Boss: Dude, you should REALLY try to read a post correctly. It sounds like you just want to go off on a CBM modernization tangent and you need someone's post to piggyback off of. I'm talking about updating a character's timeline to make him relevant to the story. MultiPurposePoni - 10/15/2009, 7:45 PM

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