Ian McKellen Teases Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart About Logan Exclusion

02/24/2017 10:14 pm EST

X-Men stars Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart, and Ian McKellen were all guests on Friday's episode of The Graham Norton Show, and during the fun-filled discussion, the host asked McKellen why he isn't in Logan.

"You know, I think when you get to my age, you want to leave aside those tired, old franchises," the 77-year-old English actor joked. "Move onto to something fresh. I sometimes cry myself to sleep. I simply don't know why I'm not in it, darling."

"Could you not do another one?" he playfully asked Jackman. He then turned to Stewart and teased his old friend, "Leave this one out. It's time you die."

McKellen then brought up the time Stewart's Professor X died in Brett Ratner's X-Men: The Last Stand (2006), getting vaporized by Jean Grey. Jackman jumped into the conversation to defend Professor X's miraculous resurrection, "Yeah, but, that's nothing," the Aussie actor explained. "It was only at the level of DNA that he was vaporized. Of course he can come back together."

In 2024 the mutant population has shrunk significantly and the X-Men have disbanded. Logan, whose power to self-heal is dwindling, has surrendered himself to alcohol and now earns a living as a chauffeur. He takes care of the ailing old Professor X whom he keeps hidden away. One day, a female stranger asks Logan to drive a girl named Laura to the Canadian border. At first he refuses, but the Professor has been waiting for a long time for her to appear. Laura possesses an extraordinary fighting prowess and is in many ways like Wolverine. She is pursued by sinister figures working for a powerful corporation; this is because her DNA contains the secret that connects her to Logan. A relentless pursuit begins … In this third cinematic outing featuring the Marvel comic book character Wolverine we see the superheroes beset by everyday problems. They are ageing, ailing and struggling to survive financially. A decrepit Logan is forced to ask himself if he can or even wants to put his remaining powers to good use. It would appear that in the near-future, the times in which they were able put the world to rights with razor sharp claws and telepathic powers are now over.

Logan stars Hugh Jackman (Logan), Boyd Holbrook (Donald Pierce), Patrick Stewart (Charles Xavier), Dafne Keen (Laura Kinney/X-23), Doris Morgado (Maria), Stephen Merchant (Caliban), Elizabeth Rodriguez (Gabriela), and Richard E. Grant (Dr. Zander Rice). James Mangold is directing and helped on the screenplay along with Scott Frank and Michael Green.

Logan hits theaters on March 3, 2017.

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