Jeff Bridges Cast As Magneto In MCU Concept Art You'll Never Be Able To Unsee

In the wake of Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the X-Men and their corner of the Marvel Universe have become fair game to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The longtime Fox characters have begun to trickle their way into the sprawling franchise in recent years, with Professor Charles Xavier (Sir Patrick Stewart), Beast (Kelsey Grammer), and, with the release of "Deadpool 3," Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), leading the charge. Of course, there are still plenty of X-Men favorites yet to be so much as hinted at up to this point.

Among these is the legendary X-Men rogue Erik Lehnsherr, aka Magneto, formerly portrayed by Sir Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender in the Fox "X-Men" movies. In the event he comes to the MCU soon and is recast, Marvel artist Lucas Werneck has built a solid case that Jeff Bridges should take on the role. On his Instagram page, he put together some incredible concept artworks depicting the "Big Lebowski" and "Tron" star in a black and magenta Magneto outfit. The actor looks perfect in the costume, especially with Magneto's signature helmet placed atop his head.

Over the years, Werneck has shared numerous other pieces of MCU X-Men artwork on Instagram, prompting plenty of praise, discussion, and debate in the comments. Unsurprisingly, his take on Bridges as Magneto did the same, with many expressing that he's not the only actor they could see bring the Master of Magnetism to the movies next.

There's no arguing that Lucas Werneck's MCU Magneto artwork looks just like Jeff Bridges. The flowing silver hair, bushy beard, and even the facial expression all evoke the actor's modern look. At the same time, depending on how you look at it, this piece does look a tad like various other actors. In the comments of Werneck's post, folks from across Instagram were quick to point this fact out, somewhat pitching other actors who'd look the part of the MCU's Magneto. Suffice to say, they came up with some pretty compelling choices.

"Dope! I see Kurt Russell in there," wrote @jameseroche, pointing out the resemblance between Bridges and Russell, who famously played Ego in "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Numerous other commenters tossed out the likes of Pierce Brosnan — the actor behind the now-defunct DC Extended Universe's Doctor Fate — and Sam Neill. Meanwhile, @gianfrancesco_ito gave Mel Gibson a nod. Deceased acting greats such as Patrick Swayze and Henry Fonda were also mentioned as talents who could've thrived in the Magneto role.

It's unknown what the MCU has in store for Magneto. Will Ian McKellen or Michael Fassbender return for one more run? Or is a recast in order immediately? If so, could Jeff Bridges be in the running, or will his work as Obadiah Stane in "Iron Man" endure as his sole MCU credit? Only time will tell as the franchise continues to gear up for the X-Men's inevitable debut.