Few comic-book movie villains have made an impact quite like Magneto. He is a character with such commanding presence and dramatic appeal that he has remained a major figure on screen for more than 25 years — technically within one sprawling continuity. It certainly helps that Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender each delivered memorable performances in the role. Now, 87-year-old McKellen is set to reprise Magneto once again in “Avengers: Doomsday” later this year, adding another chapter to a story that has already come full circle more than once. For a complete look back at Magneto’s cinematic journey, watch the video above.
After 26 years of films, Magneto’s story has become anything but simple. His big-screen history includes timeline resets, dramatic shifts between heroism and villainy, the loss and restoration of his powers, and the unforgettable moment when he lifted the Golden Gate Bridge. Yes, that really happened.
The soft reboot launched with 2011’s “X-Men: First Class” traveled back in time to explore the years before Magneto became widely known by that name. As Erik Lehnsherr, he helped Charles Xavier establish the X-Men, but his deep hostility toward humanity — shaped by his childhood in a German concentration camp and the continued persecution of mutants — eventually pushed him toward a far more militant worldview. Although Magneto served as a villain in several early X-Men films, later installments increasingly framed him as an antihero pursuing a just cause through extreme methods. “Doomsday” appears poised to continue that evolution.
What will Magneto’s role be in Avengers: Doomsday?
The appearance of Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen in the “Avengers: Doomsday” trailers is clearly designed to evoke nostalgia. Marvel Studios has relied heavily on that strategy in recent years, bringing back stars such as Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield as Spider-Man and Chris Evans as Johnny Storm. Given the affection audiences have for both veteran actors — not only because of their X-Men performances, but also because of their broader careers — their return may signal that viewers will once again find themselves cheering for Magneto in “Doomsday.”
That interpretation has become increasingly common since the original X-Men trilogy concluded. Erik functions as a hero, or at least an uneasy ally, in films including “First Class,” “Dark Phoenix,” and “X-Men: Days of Future Past,” particularly in the latter film’s future-set storyline. Magneto’s comic-book history could also help shape his part in the new movie, especially since “Doomsday” appears ready to draw from some unexpected corners of Marvel mythology. For a closer examination of Magneto’s past and his possible role in the next “Avengers” film, watch the full video above.
