New Actors For Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse?

[MovieBob]

New Actors For Cyclops, Jean Grey and Storm in X-Men: Apocalypse?

New faces will join familiar director in 80s-set sequel

NOTE: Some information could be considered spoilers for X-Men: Days of Future Past.

Director the series [http://www.comicbookmovie.com/fansites/JoshWildingNewsAndReviews/news/?a=108075] to do so.

While the history-rewriting events of the time-travel (from the near-future to the mid-1970s) plot in X-Men: Days of Future Past [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/videos/view/escape-to-the-movies/9253-X-Men-Days-of-Future-Past] were shown to have altered the previously-established "present day" fates of characters like Storm, Scott "Cyclops" Summers and Jean Grey, the actors originally associated with those roles appear unlikely to return again.

Apocalypse is set to take place in the 1980s, a decade after the main story action of DOFP. Deadline Hollywood First Class; [http://deadline.com/2014/09/bryan-singer-xmen-apocalypse-director-sequel-838588/] the roles of "Cyclops, Storm, Jean and others" are described as "young," likely meaning that new actors closer in age to the First Class participants will be sought to play the 80s-era versions of those characters.

Age of Apocalypse is said to be loosely based on a Apocalypse [http://marvel.com/universe/Age_of_Apocalypse] whose powers had led ancient cultures to believe him to be a god. Many fans been previously speculated that the time-travel storyline of DOFP and the 80s-setting of this film may be been used as a way to "soft-reboot" the franchise with a younger cast to continue the series into future sequels without "erasing" the original films.


Source: Deadline Hollywood [http://deadline.com/2014/09/bryan-singer-xmen-apocalypse-director-sequel-838588/]


[http://www.escapistmagazine.com/movies-and-tv/]

Permalink

 

[Parshooter]

Can they stop being so cheap that they keep getting rid of everyone who isn't Hugh Jackman. On the other hand recasting Jean would be killing her off then having Phoenix come back as someone else.

 

[Fappy]

More Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy? Sign me up.

I had assumed this was taking place in the new "future", but this approach is cool too.

 

[ZeoAssassin]

wasn't DOFP Fassbenders last Xmen movie or something? I remember hearing that him and Jenifer Lawrence had to basically being BEGGED back to the Xmen movies because they were both interested in other projects (Lawrence with Hunger Games and Fassbender with the still coming Assassins Creed movie of all things)?

Not that I'm complain by ANY means of course. The new casting sounds like a good idea thou for the other Xmen characters

 

[Comic Sans]

As much as I would love to see the implications of the change future created in Days of Future Past, in general I have found the cast and adventures of the prequel films much more enjoyable and compelling. I look forward to what comes next, and hope they don't botch it up.

 

[gmaverick019_v1legacy]

More Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy? Sign me up.

I had assumed this was taking place in the new "future", but this approach is cool too.

agreed, this duo is making me drool at the mouth for more from them, all in all I loved First class and Days of future past wasn't bad either, fassbender really runs with magneto's psyche/goals quite well.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

I'm okay with this. I was happy enough to see that Cyclops, Jean, and Professor X were all still alive at the end of Days of Future Past, so if we're going to deal with their younger counter-parts, I can live with none of the actors coming back.

Little baffled about Wolverine though. I take it that this will be a different psyche in this movie, since he doesn't remember any of the last thirty years once he wakes up at the end of DOFP. Speaking of the end of that movie, does this mean that teaser at the end was taking place back in the past and not the present?

 

[Remus]

I'm okay with this. I was happy enough to see that Cyclops, Jean, and Professor X were all still alive at the end of Days of Future Past, so if we're going to deal with their younger counter-parts, I can live with none of the actors coming back.

Little baffled about Wolverine though. I take it that this will be a different psyche in this movie, since he doesn't remember any of the last thirty years once he wakes up at the end of DOFP. Speaking of the end of that movie, does this mean that teaser at the end was taking place back in the past and not the present?

Well,

Spoiler

The pyramids were literally under construction, there were no weapons, no RPGs, no modern guerilla armaments to speak of. I'd say it took place about 4-5000 years ago. The Apocalypse in the books hasn't been a teenager for a long, long time.

(unless you count his clone, Evan)

 

[Grabehn]

I can't say I care much about the change, Jean Grey was a character I never liked in the movies, and Cyclops... is Cyclops, no one likes him anyways.

Can they stop being so cheap that they keep getting rid of everyone who isn't Hugh Jackman. On the other hand recasting Jean would be killing her off then having Phoenix come back as someone else.

Not really, since this says "80s" and considering how Magneto and Xavier look nothing like their older counterparts, so by that time I assume they'd go with teenager Cyclops/Jean Grey, which makes it even easier to cast different actors.

 

[Burnhardt]

Can they stop being so cheap that they keep getting rid of everyone who isn't Hugh Jackman. On the other hand recasting Jean would be killing her off then having Phoenix come back as someone else.

Actually if they weren't so lazy and gave these characters something to actually do or if they were closer to their comic counterparts, rather than just have the movie (scratch that, the franchise) be about Wolverine, the other actors might want to stick around.

But for some reason they don't because Wolverine must be the 'god' of X-men film Universe or something.

 

[Wilco86]

But for some reason they don't because Wolverine must be the 'god' of X-men film Universe or something.

More like a Jesus, but whatever. At least DoFP found some use for Kitty Pryde (despite being a weird use...), but - as an 80s X-Men fan - I'd loved seen it more closer to the source material.

 

[Lightknight]

I actually didn't particularly like any of those actors in their role except maybe Cyclops but only in that Cyclops was also a standard vague character there too. I guess I felt like the writing for them was terrible and maybe other actors and actresses can bring some flair to the roles? Or the writing will still be shitty and it won't work out. Could go either way but hopefully it can't get more boring.

 

[KingsGambit_v1legacy]

The whole point of First Class in a way, was to have an XMen film with an all-new cast. It's not really surprising if actors prefer not to reprise the roles of characters they played almost 15 years ago and from a film-making PoV, it also makes sense since in this case, the film is set two decades earlier than the first film.

Unlike with comic books, films have the issue of actors aging and choosing to move onto other projects (the question of Iron Man came up recently on this site). The options are to write the character(s) out of the film, "pass the baton" on to a new character filling the same role or just recast. Personally, I would just go with recasting. It might be jarring at first, but we, the audience, will accept it in time and move on.

Granted it would be "better" to have those characters played by the same actors (I loved their appearances in DofP) but I accept that time moves ever on and it would be a damn sight easier to just recast the character and get on with the storytelling than mess about with time travel, retcons, reboots (hard or soft) and the rest trying to make it one coherent whole.

Don't mistake me. McKellan and Stewart are a formidable, brilliant and engaging pair who perfectly captured the characters and portrayed their enmity on screen. But for another XMen film that they don't wish to be a part of, I would accept new actors (granted I would bemoan their absence) and get over it.

Whoever they cast, I'll be watching this film on release day.