Filming is underway on the next installment of Fox’s X-Men film franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse.
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The movie will bring back the lead characters from X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past, reintroduce the major character from the original X-Men films as their younger selvess, and introduce a few new players as well.
That’s a lot of mutants to keep up with, which is why we’ve put together this handy guide of who’s who in X-Men: Apocalypse. Enjoy.
James McAvoy as Professor X
James McAvoy returns for his third outing as Charles Xavier. After his story arc in Days of Future Past, Charles should be more comfortable now in his role as Professor X. This is likely what leads to him finally shave his head in order to better use Cerebro.
Michael Fassbender (and Ian McKellen?) as Magneto
Days of Future Past left Magneto, played by Michael Fassbender, in an interesting position. The altering of history means that Mystique no longer stands at his side, but he did send a call to arms out to other mutants. Will we see him form a new Brotherhood of Mutants, or will the new timeline leave him more alone than ever before?
Patrick Stewart also mentioned in an interview that Ian McKellen would be returning in X-Men: Apocalypse as well. While Stewart seemed pretty sure of it, Fox has yet to confirm.
Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique
X-Men: Apocalypse will be Jennifer Lawrence’s final outing as the mutant shapshifter Mystique. At the close of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Mystique was posing as William Stryker and hauling Wolverine off to, presumably, some government facility. Rumor has it that Apocalypse will put her troubled romance with Magneto in the spotlight.
Nicholas Hoult as Beast
Hank McCoy, played by Nicholas Hoult, is the third personย in the love triangle with Magneto and Mystique. With Xavier now embracing his role as Professor X, it’s probably a safe bet that Beast will be aiding Charles in running the new school when Apocalypse picks up.
Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse
Played by Oscar Isaac, Apocalypse โ or En Sabah Nur โ is one of the X-Men’s most powerful enemies in the comics. Perhaps the first mutant, and further empowered with alien technology, Apocalypse is seemingly immortal and possesses several different abilities. He also has a cult like following in Clan Akkaba, who have servedย him since his days in ancient Egypt. Apocalypse strictly adheres to the doctrine of “survival of the fittest,” and there are multiple alternate and future timelines featured in the X-Men comics in which Apocalypse reshapes the world to match his beliefs.
Tye Sheridan as Cyclops
Tye Sheridan takes up the role of the X-Man, Cyclops, a role played by James Marsden in the original X-Men movie trilogy. This will be a younger version of Scott Summers. Expect lots of teen romance involving a certain redhead.
Sophie Turner as Jean Grey
Game of Thrones‘ Sansa Stark, Sophie Turner, replaces Famke Janssen as Jean Grey. It will be interesting to see how the film handles a neophyte version of the character, before she’s mastered her powers. Will she have the telepathy that she only develops much later in the comics? We also hope that we get the version of Jean who isn’t afraid to stand up to Professor X, as seen in X-Men: Season One, rather than the less assertive Marvel Girl of the original Silver Age X-Men comics.
Alexandra Shipp as Storm
Storm was the X-Man most underserved by the original X-Men movies, despite being played by Halle Berry. Hopefully Alexandra Shipp’s version of the character will be better ableย to bring to the big screen more of the qualities that made Storm the definitive team leader for years in the comics.
Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler
Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Kurt Wagner, the teleporting X-Man portrayed by Alan Cumming in X2: X-Men United. While the X2 version of the character focused a lot on his spirituality โ a defining aspect to be sure โ we’re hoping that younger Kurt will be able to show off some of Nightcrawler’s swashbuckling side.
Lucas Till as Havok
It looks like X-Men fans will finally get to see the Summers brothers interacting on screen, as Lucas Till reprises his role as Havok from X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past. This makes X-Men: Apocalypse the first time that both Alex and Scott Summers appear in the same movie.
Ben Hardy as Angel/Archangel
Taking over the role played by Ben Foster in X-Men: The Last Stand, Ben Hardy is Warren Worthington III, a.k.a. Angel. Hints from director Bryan Singer and the mere presence of Apocalypse suggest that Angel will undergo the transformation in to Archangel, Apocalype’s metal-winged Horseman of Death.
Lana Condor as Jubilee
While Jubilee technically appeared in all three films of the original X-Men trilogy, she was little more than a walking Easter egg. Lana Condor will have the first opportunity to really bring Jubilation Lee to life on screen. Jubilee has the mutant ability to shoot small, explosive energy charges from her fingertips โ often referred to as fireworks โ which should provide some fun SFX, and her mall rat persona should fit right in with the 1983 setting of Apocalypse.
Olivia Munn as Psylocke
Olivia Munn will play the telepathic mutant ninja Betsy Braddock, also known as Psylocke. Betsy has one of the most convoluted histories in all of X-Men comics, involving body swaps and cybernetic eyes. It’s unclear how much of that will make it into the film, but as long as we get to see her signature psychic knife โ the “focused totality of her telepathic powers” โ I think we’re set.
Evan Peters as Quicksilver
The breakout character of X-Men: Days of Future Past had to be Evan Peters as Peter Maximoff, the mutant speedster Quicksilver. Used to replace Juggernaut in the film, writer Simon Kinberg has hinted that Apocalypse may reveal more about Quicksilver’s family.
X-Men: Apocalypse opens May 27, 2016.