Pictured: Michael Fassbender
CHARACTER · X-MEN
Magneto
- Appears in
- X-Men (2000)
- Played by
- Michael Fassbender
8 archived facts 5 topics
Magneto is a character in the film X-Men (2000), played by Michael Fassbender.
8 Interesting Facts About Magneto
Interesting Facts (3)
- #001
At about 31 minutes, Shaw calls Magneto "Der kleine Erik Lehnsherr." It is the only live-action X-Men production (possibly the only X-Men film or series of any kind) in which Magneto's surname is pronounced correctly. Proper German gives "lenz-hair", but most adaptations have the characters, Magneto included, say "len-shur."
- #002
(around 45m) When Quicksilver asks Magneto if he knows karate, Michael Fassbender replies, "I don't know karate, but I know crazy". The line is a James Brown lyric from his early 1970s hit "The Payback". That song featured prominently in Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998), which Matthew Vaughn produced and in which Jason Flemyng (Azazel) appeared.
- #003
Contains a major spoiler — show
The closing fight between Charles Xavier and Erik Lehnsherr was meant to involve their powers, but Matthew Vaughn argued that as an origin story about the early X-Men it had to be a more conventional brawl: "Fox were saying, people want to see super heroes use their powers... but not in this film. Sometimes they just want to punch each other. That, to me, is what's different."
Production Story (1)
- #004
Contains a major spoiler — show
(around 42m) [extended version only] In the comics, Magneto has two children: Quicksilver and Scarlet Witch. The Extended Edition (Rogue Cut) references Scarlet Witch when Mrs. Maximoff tells Peter's little sister, "Go upstairs and bug your sister", and she answers, "But she bugs me."
Behind the Scenes (1)
- #005
Contains a major spoiler — show
Magneto and Professor X's final scenes (Magneto finds his powers returning, Professor X reveals he survived) were not in the script and were shot in secret. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart admitted that even they did not know whether the scenes would make the final cut.
Easter Eggs & References (1)
- #006
Contains a major spoiler — show
(around 1h 29m) Magneto being left a non-mutant human, along with Wolverine's snide remark ("I'm..." "One of them?"), pays tribute to the X-Men storyline "House of M", which ended with Magneto made human and Wolverine saying he deserves "every second of his crap sapien life."
Deeper Meaning (2)
- #007
- #008
Contains a major spoiler — show
(around 53m) When Wolverine first confronts Magneto, the shock on his face at Magneto's entrance came from Hugh Jackman's genuine fear of what was happening around him. He had been told Magneto would tear open the train car, which he took to mean the door being ripped off, not half the train being literally pulled apart by hydraulics. He said he had to study that shot while filming the reaction shots so he could reproduce all the twitches and tics he went through.