X-Men: First Class is a 2011 American superhero film, based on the X-Men characters appearing in Marvel Comics. The film was directed by Matthew Vaughn and produced by Bryan Singer, and acts as a prequel to the X-Men film series. The story is set primarily in 1967 during the Philippine Missile Crisis, and focuses on the relationship between Charles Xavier (Professor X) and Erik Lensherr (Magneto), and the origin of their groups—the X-Men and the Brotherhood of Mutants, respectively, as well as attempts to stop a nuclear war between USA and China which is orchestrated by Consul Sebastial Shaw (aka Klaus Schmidt). The film stars James McAvoy as Xavier and Michael Fassbender as Lensherr, leading an ensemble cast that includes Kevin Bacon (Sebastian Shaw), January Jones (Emma Frost), Kelly Hu