Ever since it was announced that Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen are returning for X-Men: Days of Future Past (and maybe even Hugh Jackman as well), the upcoming X-Men movie has become a whole lot more interesting.

The Huffington Post caught up with McKellen to ask his thoughts on returning to the franchise. It's exciting to know he's really, really looking forward to reprising his role as Magneto.

"What a gas!" he said. "I mean, Patrick Stewart and I have been have just been playing Waiting for Godot throughout England and in the West End of London. So, we've stayed in touch. We can't believe it [laughs]. I thought these were Fassbender and McAvoy's parts, but -- no, no -- we're back. We'll give them a run for their money. I mean, I haven't read the script, so I don't know how much we've got to do. But, to be back in that world, and for Bryan to be doing it -- with all the success he's had in the meantime -- it's wonderful. Wonderful."

McKellen had nothing but kind things to say about his successor as well. It turns out he was really impressed with Michael Fassbender's work as Magneto.

"I thought he was exactly that: first class. Excellent," McKellen said. "I thought he was better than me. But, we weren't quite playing the same character because he was so much younger than me. And the scope of Magneto, one day a Jewish actor will play it. Clearly, he's Jewish. We first meet him in at Auschwitz and there's scope for all sorts of people to pay Magneto. But, I was just the lucky guy who got to play him first."

X-Men: Days of Future Past is set to start shooting in January, with the film due out in theaters on July 18, 2014. Stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence are expected to return.

The 1981 "Days of Future Past" story by Chris Claremont and John Byrne, which appeared in The Uncanny X-Men #141-142, depicts a timeline created by the X-Men’s failure to prevent the Brotherhood of Evil Mutants from assassinating a U.S. senator. In that alternate future, the giant robotic Sentinels have become the de facto rulers of the United States, where mutants are hunted down and placed in internment camps.