There have been some stellar fan castings for the Marvel Cinematic Universe over the years, and one particular fan casting has stuck around for a while. That would be the casting of The White Lotus star Jason Isaacs as the Master of Magnetism Magneto, who is one of the X-Men’s most iconic villains. During a Q&A with Vanity Fair with The White Lotus cast, Isaacs acknowledged the popular fan casting and thanked everyone who has been sharing it (via Collider).
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When the topic of fans getting behind the idea of Isaacs playing the beloved character came up, Isaacs said, “Thanks very much, fans. Many of you, whoever you are.”
There have only been two actors to portray Magneto on the big screen, and both have built up a following with multiple iterations. Those actors are Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender, and they actually played the same character, just at different times of his life.
McKellen was the first to play Magneto on the big screen, debuting in 2000’s X-Men, which was also the team’s big screen debut and ushered in a new franchise for 20th Century Fox and Marvel at the time. McKellen would go on to reprise the role in 2003’s X2: X-Men United and 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand, and then would return to the franchise in 2013 for The Wolverine and in 2014 for X-Men: Days of Future Past, which would be his final time in the role.
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Fassbender would debut as a younger version of that same Magneto in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, and then would appear in Days of Future Past as well. Fassbender reprised the role in 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse and 2019’s X-Men: Dark Phoenix, which was the final X-Men movie before Marvel Studios was able to bring the X-Men worlds and characters under its umbrella.
Isaacs has played a number of villains throughout his career in franchises like Harry Potter, Star Wars, and even Marvel (What If…? Season 3), so it wouldn’t be a stretch to see him own a role like Magneto either. Right now there are so many question marks regarding how the X-Men will be brought into the MCU and what approach they will take with the characters, so we’ll just have to wait and see as that plan comes to fruition.
What do you think of Isaacs in the role of Magneto? Let us know in the comments, and you can talk all things Marvel with me on Bluesky @knightofoa!
