X-Men’s Michael Fassbender Reflects on First Class, “Magneto Just Needs a Hug”

Magneto is one of the most popular villains under the Marvel umbrella, often serving as the archnemesis of Charles Xavier and his X-Men. The character has now been played by two actors in live-action, and one of them says all the villain needs is a hug and his motivations will be dealt with.

“What really drew me to that movie, X-Men: First Class, was this idea of an outsider and what it feels like you don’t belong. That for me was an interest core to work from in the character and to find the justifications in what his actions were, which again were pretty monumental,” Michael Fassbender said of Magneto in a new video from Vanity Fair. “The lengths he was willing to go and what the motivation of what that was. Essentially the core of that is just that Magneto needs a hug.”

Is Magneto in Deadpool 3?

The production of the Ryan Reynolds-starring sequel has been littered with reports of various 20th Century Fox characters returning, from Jennifer Garner’s Elektra to a potential sighting of Patrick Stewart’s Professor X. In fact, Stewart himself said earlier this year both he and Sir Ian McKellen were gearing up to reprise their beloved X-Men roles in some fashion.

“I can’t say about what Charles’ future might possibly hold,” Stewart told Entertainment Tonight in a new interview for the third and final season of Star Trek: Picard on Paramount+. The actor then revealed McKellen’s reaction to Xavier’s return in Doctor Strange 2, which brought Stewart out of X-Men retirement for the first time since 2017’s Logan. 

“Actually, it went very well. He did say something like [‘Hey, I would’ve done this!’], yes, that’s true,” Stewart said. “But we’re not done, Sir Ian and myself. We’re… we got plans.”

So far, we know for certain most of the actors who’ve appeared in the first two Deadpool movies will reprise their roles in the threequel. They’ll also be joined by Hugh Jackman, reprising his fan-favorite role of Wolverine from 20th Century’s X-Men franchise. Other familiar faces include Leslie Uggams (Blind Al), Karan Soni (Dopinder), Morena Baccarin (Vanessa), Rob Delaney (Peter), Brianna Hildebrand (Negasonic Teenage Warhead), Shioli Kutsuna (Yukio), and Stefan Kapičić as Colossus.

Deadpool 3 is set to hit theaters on July 26, 2024.

What other members of Fox’s X-Men universe would you like to see join the Marvel Cinematic Universe? Let us know your thoughts either in the comments section or by hitting our writer @AdamBarnhardt up on Twitter to chat all things Marvel!