The shroud over “X-Men: Apocalypse” is lifting. Yes, we know it’s about the evil mutant Apocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac in almost unrecognizable blue make-up, see below) who recruits mutants to become his Four Horseman and wipe out mankind.
But it’s interesting to learn that the world of the X-Men begins 10 years after the events of 1973 in “X-Men: Days Of Future Past.” The team — Xavier (James McAvoy), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) and Magneto (Michael Fassbender) — have splintered apart and are all over the world. Entertainment Weekly has the details.
Director Bryan Singer reveals as ‘Apocalypse’ begins, Fassbender’s Magneto is trying to live a “normal” life in Poland. “He’s fallen in love and he’s basically left his metal ways behind,” Fassbender adds. But his world is quickly shattered and Fassbender says, “Apocalypse finds Erik at a low ebb and recruits him.”
Mystique is now going by Raven and she is on her own rescuing mutants who are oppressed or enslaved, including Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee). Whether Nightcrawler is her son like in the comics is unclear, but doesn’t really sound like it from that description. Meanwhile, Professor X is running his school for mutants, but instead of training his students how to fight, “He’s teaching people how to control their abilities so that they can work at a bank. But of course this movie challenges all of that,” McAvoy says.
Even though “X-Men: Days Of Future Past” kinda of rebooted the entire X-Men universe — undoing most of the elements of “X-Men: The Last Stand” (in case they want to make one more movie with that older team) and laying the groundwork for the newer younger team to move forward unencumbered by chronology— Bryan Singer has been insisting ‘Apocalypse’ is kind of a restart as well. Huh? How does that work?
Well, maybe he’s overstated the case. EW says based on their interviews they’ve learned that ‘Apocalypse’ helps pivot the series towards the newcomers in the movie who are all younger versions of classic X-Men characters: Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Jean Grey (“Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner), and Cyclops (Tye Sheridan).
“This is kind of the introduction to them,” Singer, returning for his fourth X-Men movie, said. “At the same time, it has concluding aspects of those previous stories.” Singer may be alluding to the fact that the three central characters of the last two films, Fassbender, McAvoy and Jennifer Lawrence, have all finished up their X-Men contracts with ‘Apocalypse.’ Surely, you can’t have X-Men movies without Xavier and Magneto, but perhaps he just means they’ll go back to being supporting characters rather than the leads (and maybe their contracts won’t be as cost-prohibitive).
We’ll probably find out more soon. “X-Men: Apocalypse” doesn’t come out until May 27, 2016, but that Comic-Con trailer should be arriving soon and the new EW issue will hit stands this Friday. Check out the new cover below, along with first look images of Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), and more.
