X-Men: Apocalypse…Original cast members are coming back and more!

X-Men: Days of Future Past is dominating the box office and getting rave reviews. With the latest offering in theaters, fans are already talking about the next installment in the series, X-Men: Apocalypse.

Warning! Post might contain some spoilers regarding X-Men: Days of Future Past.

The post-credits scene in DoFP clearly set up things for the sequel. For those of you who might not know, Apocalypse is one of the biggest threats to the X-Men and the Marvel world. Recently, Simon Kinberg, known for his work as a writer in the X-Men film series, revealed a lot in an interview with The Daily Beast. The thing that got me the most excited was that the original cast members will be part of the next film as well. However, the originals won’t have a huge part because the next instalment will be primarily focused on the First Class cast. We already know the film will be set in the 80’s. So, it being a sequel after the events of DoFP in the past does make sense.

If any of you are familiar with the storyline of the Age of Apocalypse from the comic books, you would know that it too featured time travelling and alternate universe, something that was shown in DoFP as well. The addition of the original cast in DoFP was a good thing for fans. However, I felt the originals were highly underutilized as I mentioned in my review. If the filmmakers do decide to bring in the originals, I hope they do a better job with the characters this time around. X-Men: Apocalypse being set in the 80’s would mean it will take place before the events of X-Men 1. Bryan Singer has already shown interest in doing an origins story regarding how the X-Men team was formed. He also mentioned showing younger versions of Cyclops, Jean, and Storm in the film. This gives him the chance to cast younger actors in the roles and continue their stories in the Frist Class franchise. I’ve always wanted the films to show more about Cyclops, Jean, and Storm. They have rich histories in the comic books and the characters weren’t developed enough in the film series. There are also reports about Gambit and Nightcrawler having parts in X-Men: Apocalypse. They already touched upon Magneto’s relationship with Quicksilver in DoFP. So, if Nightcrawler does make an appearance I’m looking forward to how the film explains his relationship with Jennifer Lawrence’s Mystique. Gambit is another fan favorite character. We will have to wait and see how Channing Tatum does in the role. But one thing is for certain. The producers are keen on the character and even plan on doing a potential spin-off. The X-Men franchise does need another poster boy since Hugh Jackman has mentioned possibly retiring after Wolverine 3. He might get a supporting role in future X-Men films, or a mentoring one like he did in DoFP. There’s also the question about casting Apocalypse’s Four Horsemen. Who will those Four Horsemen be? There’s Death, Famine, Pestilence, and War. Different mutants have been his Horsemen at different times. Familiar mutants who have been Death include Archangel (Angel was introduced in X-Men: The Last Stand), Wolverine, and Gambit. Pestilence include Mister Sinister (has a long history with Cyclops and Jean), and Polaris (Magneto’s daughter). Most of the characters haven’t been shown in the film series. So, making already established mutants into the Horsemen is another possibility. In the X-Men: Evolution animated series, Professor Xavier, Magneto, Storm, and Mystique served as the Horsemen. Apocalypse gave them incredible power and it would be cool to see something similar in the film.

I’m still not sure which comic book story they will base X-Men: Apocalypse on. There’s an interesting storyline known as Apocalypse: The Twelve. It features Tanya Trask. Yes, you guessed it, daughter of Bolivar Trask, the antagonist of DoFP. It also included twelve mutants needed by Apocalypse. The highlight for me being that Storm transformed into a full elemental being. Talk about Mother Nature! It’s possible that the film will take elements from all the comics Apocalypse has appeared in. We might see the mutant God recruiting powerful mutants to his cause, and even abducting the ones he needs, for a new world order.

As Age of Apocalypse has time travel in it, I wouldn’t be surprised if the original characters do show up in some capacity, maybe even as cameos. It’s not as if Halle Berry looks too old to play Storm any more. Hearing that the originals are being considered to be part of the next X-Men film is exciting news. However, I hope we get a film that does primarily focus on the original cast soon. Why bring back Cyclops and Jean in the future timeline if we aren’t going to explore them further? I’m still waiting for an amazing Dark Phoenix Saga to be shown on film. Whatever the case, we will have to wait for X-Men: Apocalypse to hit theaters May 27, 2016 in order to see what Fox has in store for the X-Men, both the past and the original casts.

Which mutants do you want to see in X-Men: Apocalypse? Pleas share in the comments section below!

Author: Farid-ul-Haq

Farid has a Double Masters in Psychology and Biotechnology as well as an M.Phil in Molecular Genetics. He is the author of numerous books including Missing in Somerville, and The Game Master of Somerville. He gives us insight into comics, books, TV shows, anime/manga, video games, and movies.

Twitter

Help support independent journalism. Subscribe to our Patreon.

Copyright © The Geekiary