Corona | Coming Attractions

There will be two versions of Professor X and Magneto in the next X-Men movie, Days of Future Past. Director Bryan Singer tweeted the news today that both Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will be returning to play the older versions of their X-Men movie characters in the film, alongside returning X-Men: First Class cast members James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique) and Nicholas Hoult (Beast).

"I'd like to officially welcome back James McAvoy, Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, & Nicholas Hoult to #XMEN for #DaysOfFuturePast," said Singer on the social network, before following it up with the following tweet: "Thrilled to announce @ianmckellen118 & @SirPatStew are joining the cast of #XMEN #DaysOfFuturePast #magneto #professorX More to come..."

Rumors were first heard two months ago that Patrick Stewart would be returning to the X-Men movie universe.

That last bit from Singer's fingertips can lead to fanboy speculation. Since it's all but a given that Days of Future Past will see the younger and older timelines of X-Men collide, who else might return from Singer's first two X-Men movies and X-Men: The Last Stand? Could we see Hugh Jackman do more than make a quick cameo as Wolverine? Would Halle Berry come back to play the weather goddess Storm? What about a central character from the Uncanny X-Men comic book storyline that the movie is based on, such as Kitty Pryde (and who was played by Ellen Page in The Last Stand)? And would Kelsey Grammer be interested in playing Beast again opposite Nicholas Hoult?

There's also the thought that Singer could introduce Rachel Summers, the alternate future daughter of Jean Grey and Scott Summers. While both of Rachel's parents died in the third X-Men movie, whose to say how the interaction between the 1960s X-Men and their 2000s counterparts will twist the meta-timeline?