The largest scale X-Men film ever created is ramping up for production and the cast and crew are currently being wrangled in. X-Men: Apocalypse is coming in 2016 and the team will be facing their biggest individual on-screen threat in the domineering Apocalypse, played by Oscar Isaac. Filming is set to begin in April in Montreal and the specifics of the production are beginning to leak in.
The movie will serve as the origin story for the classic team, featuring field leader Cyclops, the telekinetic and dangerously unstable Jean Grey, and master of weather, Storm. Casting is currently underway for those roles with Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Sophie Turner (Game of Thrones) and Saoirse Ronan (Hanna), all rumored to be top contenders for Cyclops and Jean Grey. Whoever is cast could potentially be the face of franchise for the next decade, so the process could not be more crucial for the future of the X-Men.
However it’s hard to speculate on the future of X-Men without looking back at the past. It has not yet been officially confirmed, but many are expecting Hugh Jackman to reprise his role as Wolverine, since his character is essentially ageless. James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender are confirmed to return as Professor X and Magneto, with both of their roles in addition to Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique, expected to all have crucial significance to the overall plot of X-Men: Apocalypse. Most assumed that writer Simon Kinberg and director Bryan Singer would find a way to include the older versions of their characters in the story, so that series’ staples Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart could make another appearance. However, it looks like that will not be happening.
In a recent interview with Larry King, Stewart was asked if he will be participating in the upcoming shoot.
“No. Nor Sir Ian McKellen, either. I was learning quite a lot more about it last night, and it is going to be looking very much at the earlier lives of all our characters. And so I don’t think we’ll be making an appearance.”
It makes sense that after the time-altering events of X-Men: Days of Future Past that the creators would take the opportunity to create a new “first class” of Xavier’s students. Stewart and McKellen defined the series for a generation, however it makes sense to finally break and create a new X-Men identity, for a new generation.
Fox Studios has big plans to broaden their Marvel film universe over the next few years. They are releasing the Fantastic Four this year, which will tell a modernized origin story of the famed quartet. In 2016, there will be three X-Men related movies, including Apocalypse, Ryan Reynold’s Deadpool, and Channing Tatum’s Gambit, it makes sense to get a younger roster that can grow together over the next few years.
As bittersweet as this is, sometimes change is good. We will make sure to stay on top of the upcoming production and bring you the latest as we uncover it. X-Men: Apocalypse will open in theaters on May 27th, 2016.
As heartbreaking as it is, do you think it’s a good thing that the franchise is moving on from Stewart and McKellen? Let us know on the comment boards, , , and !
Source: Comicbookmovie