Next summer’s X-Men: Apocalypse surely won’t be the last X-Men movie made. The series is a big moneymaker for Fox, and superhero franchises are huge for movie studios right now. But director Bryan Singer and producers are adding characters and casting actors as if this is the last time we’ll ever see Marvel’s mighty mutants on screen.
On Monday afternoon, Singer announced via Instagram that Olivia Munn (The Newsroom, Deliver Us From Evil) has been cast in the sixth X-Men film as Psylocke.
If that doesn’t seem like such a big deal, consider that Psylocke was one of the most popular X-Men comic book characters of the early 1990s, when the property was at its peak in terms of sales and acclaim from fans under writer Chris Claremont and artist Jim Lee. (This is also why Gambit is being developed as a movie, starring Channing Tatum.)
A telepath with telekinesis abilities who could focus psychic energy into a blade of sorts, she was eventually reinvented into a ninja assassin type of character that reached Wolverine levels of badassery. (Hey, we’re talking about comic books here.) Honestly, her skimpy outfits and the physique she was given by comic book artists at the time surely also contributed to her vast popularity among fanboys. (Go ahead and do a Google image search for “Psylocke.”)
But for a certain segment of X-Men fans who grew up reading certain characters in the comics and haven’t seen them adapted to the movies, this is an exciting development. Munn’s casting could also be exciting for geeks who remember her from co-hosting G4’s Attack of the Show, sometimes dressing up as characters like Princess Leia and Wonder Woman.
Some fans are likely hoping Psylocke is outfitted the same as she was in the comic books, which might not be physically possible — or comfortable. Of course, we have no idea how big a role the character will have. Munn could essentially have a cameo appearance in this movie, since the cast is so stacked with characters.
Singer’s cast is headlined by Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, James McAvoy and Oscar Isaac as the title villain, Apocalypse. (And we shouldn’t be surprised at all if Hugh Jackman returns as Wolverine.) Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), Alexandra Shipp (Storm), Sophie Turner (Jean Grey), Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) and Ben Hardy (Angel) will be playing younger versions of characters we’ve seen in previous X-Men films, which should indicate that Fox intends to make many more of these movies in years to come.
X-Men: Apocalypse is set for a July 26, 2016 release.
[The Wrap]
