Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen Not Part of 'X-Men: Apocalypse'

Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen will not reprise their roles as Professor X and Magneto, respectively, in the upcoming "X-Men" film, "X-Men: Apocalypse".

The film, believed to be set in the 1980s, will focus on the earlier lives of all the characters; and, it will feature James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence in pivotal roles.

Stewart recently opened up about the movie on Larry King Now, noting: "I was learning quite a lot more about [the film] last night, and it is going to be looking very much at the earlier lives of all our characters."

"And so I don't think we'll be making an appearance," added Stewart, according to Yahoo! Movies.

"X-Men: Apocalypse" will feature En Sabah Nur, the Earth's first mutant, who hails for ancient Egypt. He will attempt to take over the world and the only resistance he will face will be from X-Men. Defeating Apocalypse will be a difficult task as he possesses a wide range of power, which includes superhuman strength. Other abilities include molecular self manipulation, immortality, teleportation, energy manipulation, and healing power.

Last year, director Bryan Singer had said that the introduction of an ancient mutant will pave way for lot of interesting questions.

"One thing that interests me is the notion of ancient mutants," he said, according to Screenrant. "What would people thousands of years ago, without the benefit of science, think mutants were? And more importantly, what would mutants thousands of years ago think they were? Gods? Titans? Angels? Demons? And if such mutants did exist thousands of years ago, what became of them? Did one survive?"

"X-Men: Apocalypse" was teased at the end of "Days of Future Past", when a footage showed a young person in ancient Egypt at the dawn of civilisation. The mutant has grey skin and blue lips and thousands are seen chanting his name and bowing before him as he builds the pyramids with his mind.

Actor Oscar Isaac will play the main villain in "X-Men: Apocalypse", which is set for a 27 May, 2016, release.