James McAvoy: X-Men sequel will be much darker

After the rather underwhelming, yet hugely profitable, X-Men: The Last Stand, it felt like Marvel's mutant universe might be running out of steam. And then X-Men Origins: Wolverine was released. And we were convinced that all steam had well and truly disappeared.

But 2011's inventive sequel X-Men: First Class was a return to form, introducing a fine new cast with more style and verve than Last Stand and Wolverine put together.

Hopes are therefore high for the inevitable sequel X-Men: Days Of Future Past and while speaking to James McAvoy for his new British thriller Welcome To The Punch, we managed to get a few exclusive tidbits on the upcoming blockbuster.

As with many second chapters (step forward The Dark Knight), things are going to get rather bleak...

"I think it’s going to be quite a dark journey compared to the caddish, almost playboy character that we turned him into in the first movie," McAvoy confessed. "I think it will be going through a darker place to ultimately get a sorted Professor X that we’re used to seeing come the third movie. This movie might be a little bit more of a passing through the crucible for him."

He also revealed that the ever-expanding cast (recent additions include original mutants Halle Berry, Hugh Jackman, Patrick Stewart and Ian McKellen along with newbies Peter Dinklage and Omar Sy), is going to make for one hell of a spectacle.

"It’s going to be a humongous cast," he noted. "It’s going to be like the cast of the beach scenes in Saving Private Ryan but everyone’s a mutant and everyone you’ve seen in other movies before."

You can watch the full interview here.

Welcome to the Punch hits cinemas on March 15th and X-Men: Days of Future Past will be released on July 18th 2014

(Image: All Star)