Things are looking pretty dark in Logan, the third and final (as of now) Wolverine film in the X-Men series. Trailers show Logan living in a kind of wasteland, populated only by angry soldiers and a dying Professor X. Mutants, it seems, are either dead or in hiding — there are no X-Men coming to save the day, and the villain, for once, isn't Magneto. Magneto has been a looming villain in pretty much all X-Men films, starting in 2000's X-Men. But, his menacing glare is noticeably absent from Logan. So, just where is Magneto during Logan?
Magneto's absence from Logan is never totally explained. Is he dead? Is he off doing something new and evil somewhere far away? Or has he sworn off his mutant lifestyle, like a young Magneto at the beginning of X-Men: Apocalypse? Logan takes place in 2029, just six years after the 2023-set X-Men: Days of Future Past (aka, the last time we saw Ian McKellen as Magneto). When we left Wolverine in 2023, he was happily living at the X-Mansion alongside his beloved X-Men. One person who was not there, despite becoming friends with Professor X again in the past, was Magneto. So, what happened to Magneto between the 1970s (the past part of Days of Future Past) and 2023 that might explain his absence in 2029?
When we last saw Magneto in Apocalypse (which, in case you're confused, takes place in the '80s, so after the '70s arc of Days of Future Past and long before Logan), Magneto was helping Charles rebuild his school for the Gifted, suggesting they were on good terms despite Magneto's misstep back to the dark side. However, Magneto's absence in the 2023 snippet hints that Magneto did not stay with Professor X and the X-Men. Where he was, and what he was doing, we have no idea. But, it's safe to say that by the time we meet Wolverine and Professor X in 2029, Magneto and Professor X probably haven't seen each other in a while. (It's likely that future X-Men movies which will pick up after Apocalypse might attempt to explain what happened to Magneto in the meantime.)
Though not mentioned in Logan, Magneto could be back to his villainous ways when Logan takes place. In the Old Man Logan comics, upon which Logan is loosely based, Magneto is back to his super villain status. Perhaps Magneto couldn't refuse the pull to dark side after all.
Magneto may be gone from Logan, but he is not forgotten. And, even though he might be a no-show this time, something tells me we haven't seen the last of him.
