X-Men Apocalypse: Ian McKellen confirms he will not return to play Magneto in the sequel

X-Men: Apocalypse will not bring back the bad mutant Magneto, as Ian McKellen has scotched rumours about his return to the upcoming sequel.

"I haven't heard the rumours, I don't think I am, no, no, they are currently making the film and I'm not in it," the Mr Holmes star told Digital Spy making it clear that he will not return to reprise his role of the mutant master.

"I was very happy to be a part of the films but I have other things to be doing. I've just done Mr. Holmes, I just done some filming for a sitcom, a film for BBC TV with Anthony Hopkins, so there are compensations for not getting caught up in blockbusters."

Rumours started flying when McKellen's co-star Patrick Stewart, who played Professor Xavier in the popular franchise, hinted that the vicious mutant master may return in Apocalypse.

The 76-year-old actor played Magneto in the original X-Men trilogy and returned for the 2014 blockbuster X-Men: Days Of Future Past.

"I've always thought the X-Men stories were superior, to my taste, to any other fantasy movies because they were about something," he explains.

"I don't think there's much excitement in the wimp who becomes all powerful when he changes his underwear. But X-Men is about what it is to be different, what it is to be a mutant, and society's attitude towards difference and all that. That's an important social thing to discuss."

X-Men: Apocalypse, the American superhero film based on fictional Marvel characters is scheduled to premiere on 27 May 2016 in North America.

According to the movie director Bryan Singer, the upcoming sequel will focus on the younger versions of the original mutants Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm.