Ian McKellen Always Wanted “A Good Speech” in X-MEN but Says Comics Are Limited to Just “Pow!”

Sir Ian McKellen has spent decades performing some of the greatest writing ever put on stage, so it makes perfect sense that stepping into the world of comic book movies might feel a little... limiting at times.

While attending a screening for The Christophers, the legendary actor reflected on the difference between performing classic theater and delivering dialogue in the X-Men franchise, and his explanation is hilarious.

McKellen spoke to the crowd at the screening attended by GamesRadar+ and talked about the kind of material he loves sinking his teeth into as an actor:

"I think the script has been grounded in work based on the most wonderful writing. Whether it's Shakespeare or Marlowe or Oscar Wilde or Noel Coward or Tom Stoppard or Simon Stevens or in translation, and they express what they want to say in the most wonderful language, which is beyond those people.

“And I want to speak these words. Now what I'm doing... when I'm in X-Men mode, I'm always saying I got to have a good speech. Well, because X-Men is based on a comic, and the general length of speeches in the comic is 'pow!'"

To be fair, Magneto has delivered some genuinely awesome lines over the years. McKellen brought a level of gravitas to the character that elevated every scene he was in, especially when sharing the screen with Patrick Stewart’s Charles Xavier.

Their conversations often felt bigger than your average comic book showdown because both actors treated the material with complete sincerity.

It’s also funny hearing McKellen talk about wanting “a good speech” in X-Men because Magneto actually got more memorable monologues than most comic book villains of that era.

Still, when your acting career includes Shakespeare, Tom Stoppard, and award-winning stage productions, a mutant argument about humanity probably hits a little differently.

McKellen currently stars in The Christophers, directed by Steven Soderbergh from a screenplay written by Ed Solomon, the writer behind the Bill and Ted movies.

In the film, McKellen plays celebrated artist Julian Sklar, whose children secretly hire a fellow artist named Lori Butler, played by Michaela Coel, to finish his incomplete paintings so they’ll still have something valuable to inherit after his death.

Of course, Marvel fans are already looking ahead to McKellen’s return as Magneto in Avengers: Doomsday, where he’ll reunite with Patrick Stewart’s Professor X once again. If those two characters end up sharing scenes together, there’s a good chance we are going to get exactly what McKellen has always wanted from superhero movies... a really good speech.

Avengers: Doomsday hits theaters on December 18.