‘Wanted’s’ James McAvoy Is Professor X In ‘X-Men: First Class’

James McAvoy who played a bullet curving assassin in “Wanted” will get another shot at being a superhero. McAvoy has signed on to play a young Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, in the Matthew Vaughn directed “X-Men: First Class.”

According to Fox, “First Class” will “chart the epic beginning of the X-Men saga. Before Charles Xavier and Eric 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.”

Patrick Stewart played the wheelchair-bound telepah in the original “X-Men” trilogy. It is unknown whether McAvoy will be shaving his locks for the prequel.

Production for “First Class” is progressing smoothly as Fox recently hiring Vaughn in early May and planning a summer start in London. The movie is being planned for a June 3, 2011, release.

Bryan Singer, who conceived the story for “First Class,” who is no longer directing will produce instead alongside Lauren Shuler Donner and Simon Kinberg.

Source: Heatvision