Marvel and Fox are developing a prequel spinoff of the popular X-Men villain.

Marvel Studios and 20th Century Fox are developing the X-Men spinoff Magneto, with David Goyer set to direct.

Ian McKellen, who played the role of the villain in the original movie trilogy, would most likely have limited participation in the spinoff, which will be an origin story. Goyer, who’s working on a host of various other projects, will develop a script that was written by Sheldon Turner.

Magneto, whose mutant power is the ability to manipulate metal objects, is an Auschwitz surviver who hunted down and killed Nazi war criminals who tortured him. It’s this need for vengeance that turns him and the telepathic mutant leader Professor Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart in the trilogy) into enemies.

In a flashback sequence in the third movie, X-Men: The Last Stand, McKellen and Stewart were made to look 20 years younger through digital effects. In the prequel, both characters will be played by actors in their 20s.

Magneto is the second spinoff of the X franchise planned. Wolverine, a David Benioff-scripted film, will feature returning star Hugh Jackman as the steel-clawed mutant. While no director has been chosen yet, Marvel and Fox plan to make the Wolverine movie first.

Source: Variety