The X-Men have been defending the downtrodden and battling oppression since the 1960s, but their story may be more relevant than ever.  While it doesn't take Omega Level intellect to notice the parallels between civil rights movements and the fictional quest to protect mutant-kind, Sir Ian McKellen (alongside his bromance partner Patrick Stewart) drove the point home in a recent interview with Buzzfeed:

I was sold it by Bryan [Singer] who said, ‘Mutants are like gays. They’re cast out by society for no good reason… And, as in all civil rights movements, they have to decide: Are they going to take the Xavier [Stewart’s character] line — which is to somehow assimilate and stand up for yourself and be proud of what you are, but get on with everybody — or are you going to take the alternative view — which is, if necessary, use violence to stand up for your own rights. And that’s true. I’ve come across that division within the gay rights movement.

Amongst other things discussed in the interview, McKellen also waxed poetic about his legacy in the acting world:

I often thought my gravestone would say, ‘Here lies Gandalf. He came out ... Those are two of the proudest achievements that I’ve got. I think I’ve been a part of the rapid sensible movement towards an understanding that gay people are the same as the rest of you and should be treated equally by the law, by society.

Check out some video of the interview, below!

Meanwhile, more teaser images have been released for the upcoming X-Men film, Days of Future Past, revealing even more about the characters played by Evan Peters, Jennifer Lawrence, Hugh Jackman, James McAvoy, and Nicholas Hoult in the time-traveling thriller.

Check out some of the new images (with possible spoilers?) below!