Now that Bryan Singer has signed to take the reigns of the fifth film in the X-Men saga, "X-Men First Class," a great deal of casting speculation has been discussed among the fans. Out of the slew of merry mutants whose names have been tossed around as First Class hopefuls, it seems generally accepted that younger versions of Magneto and Professor Xavier will probably be featured in the film. But when it comes to casting a younger Eric Lensher, what age range is appropriate for the harried, helmeted, Holocaust survivor? Read on as I use boring, boring math to analyze the X-movie franchise and hopefully solve the riddle of Magneto's movie age.
Clive Owen, Daniel Craig, and Ed Harris are just a few of the names that have been bandied about as possible actor’s to fill Mag’s big red cape. But which of these fine gents is old, or young, enough for the role?
In the first X-film, we see a young Eric just as he’s sprouting short-and-curlies; not to mention some wicked super powers, in the midst of the Holocaust. The Holocaust happened between 1939 and 1945. So, if MAGNETO was able to use his powers in the first movie, it stands to reason (considering Marvel mutant science), that he has hit puberty sometime within this six year window. This puts his birth year somewhere around 1930.
Bearing that in mind, let's look back at X-men (2000). In that movie Professor X alludes to the fact that Wolverine has been an amnesiac for 15 years. This would mean that the events of "X-Men Origins: Wolverine"-- which included Cyclops as a post-pubescent teen--took place around 1985.
SO, all that said means that Cyclops was born around 1970 and joined the X-men first class right around the time that Marty McFly was driving a Delorean back in time and kissing his Mom, 1985. Give or take. This puts Magneto at about 55 years old at the time First Class would take place.
Which means that
Shaman's suggestion of 59 year old Ed Harris as Mags would be closer to his actual age than Clive Owen or Daniel Craig who are 45 and 41, respectively.
Now, if we play with those numbers so that Mags is hitting puberty and twisting metal gates all to hell right as the holocaust is near it's end, he could have been born around 1933. This makes him about 52 in '85. This is a bit closer to Owen's age and not a big stretch.
But Mags would probably be older, especially when you consider that it's more likely that young Eric Lensher's family was being marched off to a camp in the early days of the Holocaust. Also, most boys don't hit puberty at 12, that's kind of early. That could put Lensher's birth year at around 1925. It's possible that in 1985 Magneto was already 60. Which means that in "X-Men: he would've been 75 and by "X3" he'd have been, at most, over 80! This is a little insulting to poor Sir Ian Mckellan who's actually 70 today and was 61 in 2000 and only 46 in '85.
Of course, one could also argue that it's possible that in the fictional X-Men movie universe the Holocaust didn't happen until the fifties or even sixties. One could just as easily argue that it's all just a movie franchise and who gives a crap how old these people are as long as they use their powers to rip one another new A-holes and that the women wear outfits that just barely cover their naughty bits.
Plus, math is boring.