Bryan Singer has officially signed on to direct his fourth entry in the X-Men franchise, X-Men: Apocalypse.
While at this point it seemed more like a formality than a revelation, it is still a major vote of confidence for X-Fans, at least, now that Bryan Singer has been officially hired to helm X-Men: Apocalypse.
The director who helped lead X-Men: Days of Future Past to its franchise-heights of $750 million worldwide (a first for the series), and who launched the original X-Men film in 2000, had previously been expected to return for the 2016 installment until controversy about his private life left the director’s chair in question.
However, with 20th Century Fox making the announcement official, X-Men: Apocalypse is definitely on the fast track and will mark Singer’s fourth entry as director in the series.
X-Men: Apocalypse is set in the 1980s and will continue the tweaked and changed destinies of the X-Men: First Class cast 10 years after X-Men: Days of Future Past. The cast is expected to include James McAvoy as Charles Xavier, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, and Hugh Jackman as the one franchise-constant, Wolverine.
The full synopsis has been revealed and can be read below:
Apocalypse takes place a decade after Days of Future Past and is a seamless next step in the story. The altering of time has unleashed a new and uniquely powerful enemy. Charles (James McAvoy), Erik/Magneto (Michael Fassbender), Raven/Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence), Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) and Hank/Beast (Nicholas Hoult) are joined by young Cyclops, Storm, Jean and others as the X-Men must fight their most formidable foe yet – an ancient unrelenting force determined to cause an apocalypse unlike any in human history.
We have had our own guesses at what the 1983 setting could mean. Singer has also revealed there will be a prologue set in ancient Egypt pertaining to Apocalypse’s origins.
Writer and executive producer Simon Kinberg has also confirmed the possibility today that the original team of X-Men from the 2000 film—Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm—could be conceivably recast as younger versions of the characters. James McAvoy has also revealed that he expects Xavier to be bald in the next installment.
We will have all the details as they develop on X-Men: Apocalypse, and you can follow all of our coverage right here.
X-Men: Apocalypse is set to begin its reign on May 27, 2016.
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