James McAvoy is Professor X in X-Men First Class

James McAvoy, who starred in “Wanted” (above) has signed on to star as Professor X in “X-Men: First Class” according to Heat Vision.

The movie is slated for a June 3, 2011 release and is to be directed by Matthew Vaughn (“Kick-Ass”).   The film is expected to focus on the early days of Professor X and Magneto, and the rift that arose between them, according to the Heat Vision report.

No word on if McAvoy will shave his head to play the famous telepath.   Patrick Stewart played the professor in the first three “X-Men” films, and in a cameo appearance in “X-Men Origins: Wolverine.” Professor X, aka Professor Charles Francis Xavier,  first appeared in the comics in 1963′s “X-Men” No. 1 as the headmaster of Xavier’s School for Gifted Youngsters, at which he trained his mutant “X-Men.”

- Matt Price