The two X-Men continuities – those established by Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner and the prequel story from Matthew Vaughn’s First Class – look set to merge with Days Of Future Past. Singer, who has taken over directorial duties for the film, has announced via Twitter that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will return in some capacity.
What exactly the pair – who originated the roles of Professor Charles Xavier and Erik “Magneto” Lensherr in the original 2000 X-Men – will be doing is anyone’s guess at this point, though Singer did tell Deadline, “The movie is called** X-Men: Days Of Future Past**, use your imagination.” He went on to say that there’s more to come, though he’s busy at the moment prepping for the new film and, er, taking time out to visit Peter Jackson as **The Hobbit **premieres in New Zealand.
But before you start worrying that McKellen’s return means no Fassbender this time, stay calm: Singer also wrote that he, along with James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, are all officially signed to return. Not shocking news, but it’s nice to hear it given the Singer stamp of authenticity.
Speculation has already begun about a framing device with the older Prof and Magento, though given the comic run’s time-jumping nature, it sounds like the two timelines are about to meet… **X-Men: Days Of Future Past **will hit our screens on July 18, 2014.