X-Men: First Class- in the before time

Little info on the prequel to the X-Men franchise that is well under way filming in the UK and is starring James McAvoy as a young Charles Xavier ( Portrayed by Patrick Stewart ) and Michael Fassbender as the young Eric Lehnsherr ( Played by Ian McKellen ) co-starring January Jones ( pictured ) Kevin Bacon, Oliver Platt, Jennifer Lawrence, Rose Byrne, Nicholas Hoult, Jason Flemyng and Zoe Kravitz. Ben Seresin ( Transformers and the new Denzel Washington film Unstoppable ) is serving as cinematographer.

Director Matthew Vaughn ( Kick-Ass, Stardust ) has confirmed that the film is a prequel to the first three movies. It will take place during the 1960s and will parallel the history of Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X. The X-Men costumes will look much more as they did in the original comics compared with the first three films, although the original team members with the exception of Beast will not appear. For most of the film Professor X will not be bald or in a wheelchair, but the reason why Xavier is later forced to use a wheelchair will be explained. The villains of the film will be the Hellfire Club. The plot is as follows:

"Before Charles Xavier and Erik Lensherr took the names Professor X and Magneto, they were two young men discovering their powers for the first time. Before they were archenemies, they were closest of friends, working together, with other Mutants (some familiar, some new), to stop the greatest threat the world has ever known. In the process, a rift between them opened, which began the eternal war between Magneto’s Brotherhood and Professor X’s X-Men."

Regarding the film's story, Vaughn said, "The story that Bryan Singer came up with is very, very smart ... It's very clever when you see how he has integrated the characters into the time period where the film is set. I'll put it that way. I just don't want to give it away. ... It's a very clever way of getting these characters involved in recent history, in recent world events."

The film will see a June 3 2011 release date.