James McAvoy has signed on to play a young Charles Xavier, better known to his students as Professor X, in X-Men: First Class, which Matthew Vaughn recently signed on to direct.
First Class will take us back to the beginning of the X-Men saga. The story will go all the way back to when Xavier and Eric “Magneto” Lensherr were friends. In the film, they team up with some other mutants to fight a “great threat.” During this battle Lensherr and Xavier will go their separate ways and form the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants and X-Men respectively.
Patrick Stewart perfectly played Xavier, the bald-headed, wheelchair-bound telepath, in the original X-Men trilogy. It has not been announced whether or not McAvoy will go bald for the role.
The movie is being planned for a June 3, 2011, release.
Bryan Singer, who was originally going to direct, is now just producing, along with Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.
The Pulse: Frankly, I’m not sure how I feel about this news. I like McAvoy and all, but as the Professor? I just don’t see it right now. And when was Xavier ever “young?” Even in flashbacks in the comics he still looks old. Hell, they could have cast Stewart again and I don’t think any body would have cared. Well, what’s done is done. I just hope he doesn’t screw it up.
Do you think McAvoy has what it takes to fill Stewart’s wheelchair? And who do you think/hope will be cast to play against McAvoy as Magneto?
Source: THR
