James McAvoy: Professor X in 'X-Men First Class'!

James McAvoy has nabbed the role of a young Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, in X-Men: First Class, out June 3, 2011.

First Class will “chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were the closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men.”

Helming the X-Men prequel will be Matthew Vaughn (Kick-Ass, Layer Cake). Bryan Singer, who directed the first two X-Men movies and conceived the story for First Class, is producing and will kick off production this summer in London.

FYI: Patrick Stewart played Professior X in the original X-Men trilogy.

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