Michael Fassbender Talks Magneto's Future Beyond X-Men: Apocalypse

X-Men: Apocalypse marks the conclusion of the "First Class" trilogy that began in 2011, which means that there will be some cast shakeups in the X-Men film universe. Jennifer Lawrence has already confirmed that Apocalypse will be her last film as Mystique, while Nicolas Hoult is unsure if he’ll return to play Beast. As for Michael Fassbender, who plays the young Erik Lehnsherr, a.k.a. Magneto, he’s already wondering about his character’s future beyond the 2016 superhero blockbuster.

While promoting his new film, Slow West, Fassbender was asked by MTV what the future holds for him in the X-Men universe. The actor stated he wasn’t sure, and pointed out that he and his co-stars all signed three-picture deals, so we’ll just have to wait and see what happens after X-Men: Apocalypse. However, in terms of whether he's interested in reprising the metal-manipulating mutant at all, he responded:

Always interested in moving forward

Although Gambit and Wolverine 3 will follow X-Men: Apocalypse, the future of the main X-Men film series remains uncertain. Earlier this week, it was rumored that X-Men: Apocalypse and Wolverine 3 could mark the end of the universe that Bryan Singer created in 2000. It remains to be seen whether this means that the director is simply leaving the franchise or if it will be rebooted/relaunched in some way. Thanks to the timeline being changed in X-Men: Days of Future Past, as well as Singer stating that X-Men: Apocalypse will change the course of history within that world, the future that awaits Fassbender’s Magneto may not match the one that Ian McKellen’s Magneto lived through. So if Fassbender does play the character in another film, it’s likely it will be original material rather than a rehash of what we’ve seen in previous films.

Since he debuted as Magneto in X-Men: First Class, Fassbender has starred in a number of notable movies, including Prometheus, 12 Years A Slave, and Frank. Aside from Slow West, his other upcoming projects include playing the titular character in Steve Jobs and an unknown role in Assassin’s Creed. Having been propelled to stardom, it’s not like Fassbender is hurting for work, but if he enjoys controlling metal and waging warfare (both physical and ideological) against his former friend Charles Xavier and the X-Men, he may decide to stay for another round or two.

You can see Fassbender’s Magneto alongside the rest of the mutant cast when X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27, 2016.

Adam Holmes
Senior Content Producer

Connoisseur of Marvel, DC, Star Wars, John Wick, MonsterVerse and Doctor Who lore, Adam is a Senior Content Producer at CinemaBlend. He started working for the site back in late 2014 writing exclusively comic book movie and TV-related articles, and along with branching out into other genres, he also made the jump to editing. Along with his writing and editing duties, as well as interviewing creative talent from time to time, he also oversees the assignment of movie-related features. He graduated from the University of Oregon with a degree in Journalism, and he’s been sourced numerous times on Wikipedia. He's aware he looks like Harry Potter and Clark Kent.