‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ Writer Discusses ‘Biggest X-Men Film We’ve Ever Done’
X-Men fans are eagerly awaiting the next installment in the decade-and-a-half-old franchise, due in theaters this summer, and according to writer Simon Kinberg they will be well-rewarded, as Apocalypse is set to be the “biggest” movie in the series to date.
Kinberg’s comments come as part of a video released by Fox, the studio behind Apocalypse, in which the writer answers fans’ questions, discussing how the upcoming film is set apart from its predecessors. According to Kinberg, the threat facing the X-Men stands head and shoulders above those which arose in past films, due partly to the scope of Apocalypse’s ambition.
“We’ve never done one of these movies where the whole world — there’s like an extinction-level threat to the world,” Kinberg revealed.
The film’s titular villain, portrayed by Oscar Issac, is most interested in a survival-of-the-fittest competition among life on Earth, as EW reports. In order to build the better world Apocalypse promised in the film’s first trailer, he envisions only the strongest forms of life surviving. While that idea has some parallels with Magneto’s vision in previous X-Men films (likely the reason the master of metal finds himself one of the four horsemen in this incarnation of the story), Apocalypse is apparently bent on deploying that philosophy on a much larger scale.
#XMenApocalypse Simon Kinberg Fan Q&A https://t.co/xtYYNKtf5Z pic.twitter.com/cFug31CR69
— We have a Hulk (@wehaveahulkblog) January 16, 2016
The world of X-Men: Apocalypse provided another challenge of scale for storytellers, according to Kinberg. Not only are the ambitions of the film’s main villain global, but the Earth to which he awakens is deeply changed by the events of Days Of Future Past. With the timeline fully reset, Kinberg acknowledged that the team behind the film was trying something “radical” for the franchise, setting in place a new history for the X-Men films to follow.
“Now that we’ve created that history, we take that to be canon. We take it to be law, and so it’s really important that we continue to tell those stories…knowing that really the only destination, ultimately, is the little glimpse into the Xavier mansion at the end of Days of Future Past in the future part.”
Kinberg also alluded to just how powerful a foe Apocalypse will be for the X-Men, noting that unlike previous villains, he is endowed with a range of powers that become evident throughout the course of the movie. When stacked up against the other mutants in the franchise, Apocalypse represents something far more powerful, as ComicBook notes.
APOCALYPSE is way more powerful than any other X-MEN character according to SIMON KINBERG https://t.co/wZnMRw4BLc pic.twitter.com/59bcrEqiDg
— Superhero Feed (@SuperheroFeed) January 16, 2016
X-Men: Apocalypse will see the return of James McAvoy as Charles Xaver, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert, and Lucas Till as Havok. A range of new actors are set to bring back characters either long absent or sidelined from the X-Men franchise, including Alexandra Shipp as Storm, Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, Ben Hardy as Angel, Tye Sheridan as Cyclops, Olivia Munn as Psylocke, and Lana Condor as Jubilee.
A mutant that has been worshiped as a god almost since the dawn of time, Apocalypse awakens in the new film to find a world drastically changed from that which he once knew. Reportedly “disillusioned” with the state of the Earth, he recruits a group of powerful mutants to serve as his four horsemen, determined to cleanse the planet of weakness and create a new world over which he will reign. As is to be expected, only the X-men can stand in his way, and fans will get the chance to find out exactly what the true cost of the ensuing battle will be when X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27.
[Photo by Mike Coppola/Getty Images]
