Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen Set For 'X-Men' Return

THEY'RE BACK: Stewart & McKellen Return For 'X-Men'
LONDON - FEBRUARY 26: Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart pose for photos before reading from 'The Letters of Samuel Beckett', and discussing their roles in a production of Waiting for Godot opening at The Theatre Royal Haymarket (on April 30th 2009) at Foyles Bookshop on February 26, 2009 in London, England (Photo by Tim Whitby/Getty Images)
LONDON - FEBRUARY 26: Sir Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart pose for photos before reading from 'The Letters of Samuel Beckett', and discussing their roles in a production of Waiting for Godot opening at The Theatre Royal Haymarket (on April 30th 2009) at Foyles Bookshop on February 26, 2009 in London, England (Photo by Tim Whitby/Getty Images)

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen, better known to Marvel fans as Professor X and Magneto, will return to the comic book franchise for "X-Men: Days of Future Past." That's the word from "X-Men" director Bryan Singer, who tweeted the news to his 11,589 followers on Tuesday.

The news was also reported by Deadline.com, though two minutes after Singer sent out his tweet.

Singer, who directed "X-Men" and "X2," is returning to the franchise after a two film absence. He replaced Matthew Vaughn, who directed "X-Men: First Class" and was set for "Days of Future Past" duty, in October.

As previously reported, the "X-Men: First Class" is based on a popular time-travel storyline in the "X-Men" comic. EW.com explained the comic book's plot in August:

Most of the X-Men are dead; the ones that are still alive are on the run. In the original story, the future version of Kitty Pryde time-travels back in time into her young self’s brain and works with the present-day X-Men to prevent the atrocity that kickstarts the whole miserable future.

That somewhat explains how future iterations of the X-Men mutants, including the older versions of Professor X and Magneto, could appear alongside their younger counterparts. (In "X-Men: First Class," Professor X and Magneto were played by James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender, respectively.)

While this might come as a shock to some "X-Men" fans, Stewart all but confirmed his involvement in "X-Men: Days of Future Past" during a panel at Montreal Comic-Con in September. "I think there is every possibility," Stewart said about his potential "X-Men" return.

For more on this news, head over to Deadline.com or just check Singer's Twitter page.

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