One of the more fascinating aspects of Fox Studios recent soft reboot of the X-men film franchise, is how director Bryan Singer plans to  align the First Class cast with the older depictions from the original films. A character who seems to most embody this incongruous shift would be none other than the leader of the X-men, Professor Charles Xavier, depicted by James McAvoy and Patrick Stewart in his elder years.

The journey towards his eventual bald-headed and paralyzed comic book appearance begun in First Class when he was seemingly left without the ability to walk, due to a stray bullet from his friend and eventual nemesis, Erik Lensherr. It seemed that the first stage of his transformation was complete by the end of the film. However other personality traits that are typically not attributed to the older version still remained. The “misuse” of his telepathy to swoon women and the flamboyant fashion style that is taken to an even further level in the upcoming, Days of the Future Past.

IGN’s Scott Collura scored an exclusive interview with McAvoy, who shed more light into the slow transformation. (Xavier Hates Magneto in Days of Future Past) He even alludes to the fact that this is more of an Xavier origin story than we have previously seen on film:

“…he’s in a very different place, he’s on a journey that’s very different from the one that Patrick’s (Stewart) been on, and he approaches situations and is a different person entirely. But he’s on a path that hopefully by the middle of the end of the third movie — if we make a third movie — I will then be very close to Patrick. And that will be the biggest challenge for me. “

This bit of information actually falls in line with the glimpses of McAvoy’s character. Who goes from walking and able-bodied, to confined in his wheelchair in other scenes. There is little doubt that this is due to the time-travel element that will be present in the film, which will allow for many different realities and potential future outcomes for our favorite band of mutants. Exactly how he gets there, should be new and fresh to long time fans of the comics. While there have been glimpses of Xavier’s youth, there has yet to be a definitive story of his maturation. It should be fun to see what Singer and McAvoy have cooked up for fans this summer.

Let us know what you think of what McAvoy had to say on the franchise or your general feelings on the space-time continuum and its ripple effects!

Braxter Timberlake