One of the more exciting developments of the latest batch of X-Men films is the franchise’s ambition toward reinventing itself and rebooting its core characters for a new audience and fresh set of films.
In 2011, X-Men: First Class dialed the clock back from Patrick Stewart’s Professor Xavier to James McAvoy’s younger version of the character, while Ian McKellen’s Magneto was revitalized by Michael Fassbender and Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique was portrayed by Jennifer Lawrence. X-Men: Days of Future Past brought past and current incarnations of the mutant superheroes together last summer, setting the foundation for an all-new story that will begin with 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse.
The latest X-Men film will take place in the 1980s, thus requiring a new set of actors to play the group’s nucleus of Cyclops (previously played by James Marsden), Jean Grey (Famke Janssen) and Storm (Halle Berry). Director Bryan Singer announced on Twitter that the production has finally cast those key roles.
Meet our new and brilliant young mutants: @Alexshipppp as #Storm @SophieT as #JeanGrey and @TyeSheridan as #Cyclops. #XmenApocalypse
— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) January 23, 2015
Sophie Turner will be most familiar to fans from Game of Thrones, where she plays Sansa Stark. Tye Sheridan was most recently seen in the film Joe with Nicolas Cage, but might be best known for his role in Mud alongside Matthew McConaughey. Alexandra Shipp may be the least known of the trio, but played Aaliyah in the Lifetime biopic about the singer and is in the N.W.A. movie titled Straight Outta Compton.
Personally, as an X-Men comic book fan, I’m most curious about Turner playing Jean Grey, since I’ve always thought Janssen was miscast in that role. Marsden and Berry created some big shoes to fill for Sheridan and Shipp, however.
Oscar Isaac (A Most Violent Year, Inside Llewyn Davis) has already been cast as the title villain in this latest X-Men film, joining McAvoy, Fassbender and Lawrence in an impressive collection of acting talent.
X-Men: Apocalypse will hit theaters on May 27, 2016.
[Variety]
