X-Men Apocalypse

Now that we’ve all gotten Star Wars: The Force Awakens out of our systems (no? Still going?), we can look forward to some of next year’s major releases, like X-Men: Apocalypse. The third film in the current trilogy arrives next May, starring everyone’s new actor BFF Oscar Isaac as the titular villain, featured in a new piece of concept art along with three of his four horsemen and some very warped surroundings.

Like the trailer for Captain America: Civil War, the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse has a whole lot to unpack, from new characters to Oscar Isaac’s ungodly villain and his four horsemen, and yes, the bald-ification of James McAvoy’s Professor X. To help you digest all of this, director Bryan Singer has offered a breakdown of some of the bigger happenings in the new sequel.

Earlier this morning say the debut of the first X-Men: Apocalypse trailer and, depending on your mileage, it was either completely amazing or totally underwhelming. Well, if you needed a little more evidence before deciding what exactly you think of X-Men: Apocalypse, we now have the full poster, which gives you a bigger look at Oscar Isaac as the titular villain.

I’m an old enough nerd to remember when the first X-Men movie came out in theaters. At that time, comic books were not the number one driver of all things in popular culture. Bryan Singer’s X-Men certainly featured all the comic’s beloved heroes and villains, but there did seem like there was a concerted effort to tamp down some of their comic-book-ness. Everyone dressed in black. There was no spandex. The story was grounded in weighty real-world themes like prejudice and vengeance. It was the X-Men you knew, but watered down just a bit. It was a rum and coke, not a shot of gin. X-Men: Apocalypse, in comparison, looks like a bottle of Beefeater.

In a little less than a month we’ll be seeing two things: a new Star Wars movie and the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse. While it’s possible that we’ll see a short teaser-for-the-tease-trailer for the latter in the week leading up to its official theatrical debut, director Bryan Singer has shared a new photo from the film in case you were feeling a tad anxious.

Hugh Jackman has remained steadfast that the upcoming third Wolverine movie will be the next and last time he plays the iconic X-man on film, after sitting out the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse. But it turns out there may be more to that story as Jackman may indeed be filming a role for Bryan Singer’s upcoming X-Men adventure.

X-Men: Apocalypse isn’t just the conclusion of the recent trilogy kicked off by First Class; it’s basically the conclusion of six X-Men films, which began in 2000 with Bryan Singer’s first X-Men movie, and comes full circle with Singer’s Apocalypse, hitting theaters next spring. As such, the director says that we can probably expect a longer runtime for the new sequel, while also warning of potential spoilers in the forthcoming trailer.

With the X-Men timeline effectively reset following the events in Days of Future Past, and with Gambit and Deadpool movies on the way, 20th Century Fox’s version of the MCU is now open to more interesting possibilities. Writer and producer Simon Kinberg has previously hinted at crossover possibilities within the mutant cinematic universe, but his latest statements suggest that the idea has moved from hypothetical to legitimate plan.

Goddess. Windrider. Queen. Leader. Storm has worn multiple hats during her existence; roles that have aided in her evolution as one of comics’ most significant and abiding heroes. Yet although Storm’s pop cultural significance is great, her characterization has seen glaring inconsistencies from comic book to screen. Fans of the '90s cartoons remember a majestic leader whose long winded monologues became part of her appeal, but fans of the films were subjected to an unimposing and rather useless version of the character. But what was lost in translation? What is it about Storm that the movies' writers and producers failed to understand?

Most of our updates on X-Men: Apocalypse have been coming from Instagram as of late, with director Bryan Singer providing set photos and teasing out various characters and their stories (Storm’s origins, Angel hanging out in a Berlin fight club). The latest updates from the set feature Olivia Munn practicing Psylocke’s sweet sword skills, as well as confirmation that the film is shooting in 3D.