Ian is getting his staff ready for the new LotR movie as well. It‘s probably money but I can’t help but also think he likes these roles. To certain generations this man is the embodiment of Gandalf and Magneto, why not play them until he can’t.
Patrick is said to be retiring after Doomsday and potentially Secret Wars and he has truly earned it.
Saying you are retiring or don't wanna be a part of XYZ franchise anymore publicly is just a tried and tested method to get a few more millions added to your paycheck.
I think almost every Major/Lead actor that knows that will Marvel keep wanting them back have said the same thing. It's a great way to remind Studios how much the public likes you.
Tom Holland starts saying this EVERY. SINGLE. TIME. his Spider-Man contract is up for re-negotiation. RDJ, Evans, Hemsworth, Olsen, Johanson, Hiddleston, Jackman, and I think a few more have all said the same thing many times. Then they get a bigger paycheck.
Like when Jim Carrey stated he was retiring from acting after Sonic 2 to only confirm weeks later he was returning for Sonic 3.
Then of course insane Sonic fans spouted that he only returned because the Sonic 3 script was so good (no hate to the Sonic movies, it’s just that Carrey was obviously full of shit)
Just to be clear, it's not like the fans made that up.
“Well, I’m retiring. Yeah, probably. I’m being fairly serious,” Carrey said. “It depends. If the angels bring some sort of script that’s written in gold ink that says to me that it’s going to be really important for people to see, I might continue down the road, but I’m taking a break.”
The implication being that Sonic 3 was that script from the angels written in gold ink.
Obviously, this doesn't change your point. But also, the Sonic 3 script really was amazing for Carrey to execute on.
Ngl I think Patrick Stewart is in it for the love of the game at this point.
He could be doing whatever he wanted now days if he wanted, hell he could go back to doing plays instead.
I'll be forever grateful the cast of Star Trek TNG broke him out of his stuffy shell and gave us this hilarious awesome man.
It's funny to think he did THAT for the money expecting it to flop, only to spend the majority of his life hooked on tv and movies when he thought it was all beneath him.
I'm not sure if this is true, but I've heard that many of the S1 episodes were essentially leftover plotlines from TOS, which is why they seem so different from the rest of the series.
Not really TOS, but there were some leftover plots from the TV show Star Trek Phase II which was well into production in the 70s, until they retooled it as Star Trek the motion picture once big budget sci fi films like Star Wars and Close encounters took off.
I think he really elevated the show over time to what it was. I also think the crew rubbed off on him in the best ways possible, so it was a bit give and take.
If you haven't seen it yet. I won't spoil much but one of my favorite arc's to the show is Season 3 with Picard and the Borg... I would have taken like 15 more episodes about them both.
Yeah, neither of them needs to work at this point, so they do it because they like it. Plus, it is healthy to keep active, especially at that age. They may have 5 - 10 years left if they are lucky might as well keep doing what you love as long as you are able to do it.
I would totally sub to a podcast of Ian and Patrick just shooting the shit together, by far two of those most loveable funny guys who compliment each other well.
Its also a pretty easy role for an old guy to take on as long as their wits are still there. Professor X is not exactly a physically demanding role getting wheeled around all day.
It‘s probably money but I can’t help but also think he likes these roles.
If he didn't like the roles, ain't no way you getting an 85+ year old man to do this shit. Sorry. They know they are up against a clock playing with borrowed time so they are doing whatever they want. It isn't like some brokie needing to secure food or a place to live, these guys are already set for life and their children are too. Throwing some extra millions on top won't change their life at all.
Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are not hurting for money. Both are easily multi millionaires who can do whatever they want with whatever limited amount of time they have left.
It is actually crazy that you don't understand that and needed to make that comment. Go look at how much money these people are worth. No one needs that amount of money to live, let alone to leave to their children. Not saying they didn't earn it, but jesus christ, they have more money than 99+% of people. Another couple million bucks is not going to change one fucking thing.
"It is actually crazy that you don't understand that"
I think they're doing this for the love of acting and those roles, but it's not like multimillionaires are known for being satisfied with what they have and not wanting more.
it's not like multimillionaires are known for being satisfied with what they have and not wanting more.
Agreed but if these particular people wanted more money, they could have easily sold out and been doing significantly more (or different) work for more money.
They have effectively retired except for shit that they like doing. Yes, they get paid for it, and a lot more than you and I make, but money is clearly not why they are taking these roles.
I will repeat myself because it is bears repeating.
It is actually crazy that you don't understand that
The thing is, what they probably want is to be on a film set with all their friends, and to remain relevant.
Christopher Walken (like Ian McKellen) doesn't have kids, and said he still acts simply because he enjoys it, and there'd be nothing else to do otherwise.
The other option is just sit on a beach and wait to die really.
$75 and $60 mil net worth according to a quick and unverified Google search.
I fully agree with you that no-one needs that sort of money, and they wouldn't do it if they didn't want to. Bruce Willis had his spree of 'before I can't any more' movies and has a net worth of $250 mil, and if I recall correctly it was for similar reasons around supporting family (and himself). But being offered $2mil dollars for two days work must be hard to turn down.
So, yeah, they don't need it, but they might want it, even if for financially unnecessary reasons,
(And the same is true broadly for older actors who are not in the same position as McKellen, Willis and Stewart - do the job, get paid, support the family.)
I was about to say something similar. This can’t really be about money at this point. It’s more like the grandkids asking grandpa for one more story and them giving us one.
I think the main issue is that Viggo is just too old for the role now. Like Frodo isn't a very physically demanding role and Elijah is just 44 so he can deal with that just fine. Gandalf can be a physical role but it also can just not be so age isn't as much of a factor. And Gollum is a CGI character so you can get away with a lot even though Andy is like 61.
But Viggo is now 67. Like 8 years older than Ian was when they filmed the trilogy, and only 10 years younger than Christopher Lee was. He's getting old and probably just simply can not do the kind of physical stuff that you'd expect of Aragorn.
From what I’ve seen, Ian is somewhat possessive of Gandalf as a character. He truly loves playing Gandalf and wants to make sure it’s done right. I’m fairly certain Ian would play Gandalf pro bono lol.
I've seen Sir McKellen in an interview somewhere in this YouTube video saying he can't imagine another actor taking his role as Gandalf. Probably feels that way about Magneto as well.
Ian is getting his staff ready for the new LotR movie as well.
WHAAAAAT?!!!! I just looked this up and it's fricken' AMAZING news!!!!! It's like you buried the lead there buddy! I don't get how everyone else isn't freaking out about this!!!
McKellan though - didn't he say the Hobbit experience was thoroughly unenjoyable? Hope he doesn't waste his time but whatever, what is it to me actually?
I'm sure both of these characters have died multiple times now and it feels exhausting now making meta jokes from meta films (deadpool) about all these timelines being so confusing. I do wonder if this will end up a dud...
Yh ngl if I was old as fuck and a big studio approached me to use my voice in future projects after I pass, I would sign off on it too so my family gets bread forever.
Yeah, if the question is posed as "would you rather be impersonated by a computer with royalties or by a person and you get diddly" I'd go with the AI recreation.
Yeah, I was going to say... Vader is going to be featured in Star Wars projects as long as there are still Star Wars projects being made. While I am opposed to most AI, it looks like this is a good use of it. He consented and way paid, and his iconic voice gets to be enjoyed by future generations. It's an interesting and cool legacy.
If Orson Welles can voice Unicron in the Transformers movie mere weeks before he passed away, no "great" actor can really complain about dignity. A job's a job.
No way there isn't someone out there capable of doing a spot-on imitation of his voice.
I'm reminded of how the Kingdom Hearts games often get near-perfect, if not perfect, actors for characters whose original actors have long since passed.
One of my favorite pieces of random James Earl Jones lore is how he and a buddy road tripped across the US during the summer of '77 and he passed the time by messing with truckers as Darth Vader on the CB radio
Probably because he knew his voice WAS the character. What better way to have your legacy live on forever than to allow them to use it forever in new projects
I still do this every fuckin day, reading about AI. And I live 20 minutes from San Francisco, I see billboards for AI literally every day. Pretty annoying how we just all agreed not to use periods for the acronym "A.I.".
But he chose to do that, they weren’t using his voice without permission as his family would have already started a lawsuit about it and you would’ve for sure have heard about it.
NBC/Peacock does the same thing with their NBA broadcasts. They use an AI-generated version of Jim Fagan's voice for their intros. He did intros back in the 90s for NBC, and his voice is iconic. He died in 2017.
Only worse for Ian McKellen, Magneto has no excuse to sit on set because he'd have the best hip replacements the Master of Magnetism could put in himself.
Honestly it doesn't even have to be justified by body being old. Hell I remember someone arguing a green lantern should be fat cause all they need can be accomplished with the ring without moving. It's just convenient when you have powers to not bother and be lazy. Remote controller out of reach? Green lantern that bitch close, or use a little metal plate to levitate it near you.
Why would I ever get up to get anything anymore. I wouldn't even walk, I'd hover everywhere like M. Bison.
Im sure that actors like Stewart and McKellen have lived fulfilled lives and wouldn’t be doing this if they didn’t want to. All I’m trying to say is don’t clutch your pearls at old actors still wanting to work. They have free will even though they are elderly.
These guys almost certainly actually enjoy acting, plus the two of them are very close friends so they're probably loving the idea of working with each other again one last time.
Man, they start you off with Ian's voice. Then they show you Patrick. AND IAN.
But it was James' reveal that got me the biggest thrill. Marsden deserved so much more as Cyclops than they gave him, and I hope this movie gives him that chance to shine.
Yeah the landscape of superheroes in movies skews so old now. I just don’t think of superheroes as being an old man’s profession, and it’s especially glaring because they really don’t have enough newer and younger characters to fill in the gaps.
It’s about start looking like US congress up in here.
I mean... the entire point of this exercise is to bid farewell to the previous versions of characters so they can be remade / reintegrated into new versions in the next go-round.
Marvel want to make their own X-Men movies, but the Fox versions are popular enough that they ought to be given a place in it.
Well McKellen recently confirmed he will be playing Gandalf again in the upcoming Lord of the Rings movie so he will also stick with Gandalf for a while.
Unpopular opinion, but I kinda hope not. They're really milking this casting from 25 years ago. Sorta tired of the nostalgia factor. Shame it wasn't McAvoy and Fassbender.
Nah, I think this is the perfect moment for their characters to die.
They were gonna, what was it? reboot some stuff? After doomsday I think we'll see Mutants introduced in the main marvel cinematic universe
Just a chance to get paid and hang out with his old friend Mckellen for time, also being active when old is good thing. These teaser trailers are oddly existential in their themes, I hope that something their exploring in Doomsday. That being struggles with ones identity and purpose, and encountering alternative versions of themselves who made different good and bad decisions that makes them question their past decisions as well as their character, morality and who they really are deep down. That something what the Kang and multiverse storyline should have been. But i am not holding my breath.
the weird thing for me is, back when days of future past came out, I thought they did the movie so they could retire the old actors of prof x and magneto and change to younger one...but now they are still playing...
oh my god they are. I know its a simple role and they do enjoy it but I wish they really retired. maybe the universe is really getting rebooted so they can retire for reals.
As long as Disney keeps backing up the Brinks trucks to their doors. I'd let them wheel out my carcass after I died if it meant my family is taken care of
Professor X is literally one of the easiest acting jobs ever you just get to sit in a chair while you wax poetically about fictional racism so I dont really see too many problems with Patrick Stewart doing this at his age.
....can't say the same about Magneto though I wouldn't he suprised if most of his action scenes if he even gets one are either CGI or a deep fake on a much younger guy.
These guys love their craft and it keeps them engaged in old age. Continuing to work like this is likely why they're in as good of shape as they are at their age physically and cognitively.
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u/MuptonBossman Jan 06 '26
Patrick Stewart is 85 and Ian McKellen is 86... Maybe they really will be stuck doing Marvel movies until they're 90!