The latest installment to the “X-Men” movie franchise, “X-Men: Apocalypse,” just finished its first unit filming last week and film director Bryan Singer gamely shared how the cast and crew celebrated a successful shoot.
Although a few more shots need to be taken, the 49-year-old director uploaded a set of pictures on Instagram of the “X-Men: Apocalypse” party held in Montreal, Canada where the film was being shot.
In one photo, Singer captured the drink menu that night and surprisingly, the drinks were named after “X-Men” characters such as The Nightcrawler, and The Mystique, among other booze.
In another photo, the longtime “X-Men” director was sandwiched between stars Olivia Munn and Alexandra Shipp while another photo shows Singer partying it up with other cast members like James McAvoy, Ben Hardy, and Josh Helman.
According to Cinema Blend, Singer has been very hard at work with “X-Men: Apocalypse.” The upcoming film is the director’s fourth time to helm a film in the sci-fi franchise after 2000’s “X-Men,” its sequel “X-Men 2” released in 2003, and 2014’s “X-Men: Days of the Future Past.”
Rumors are now surfacing that “X-Men: Apocalypse” will be Singer’s last directorial film as far as the “X-Men” franchise is concerned. After directing the first two movies, he passed on the director’s seat to Brett Ratner to do “X-Men: The Last Stand” while Matthew Vaughn was responsible for the re-establishment of the X-Men universe through “X-Men: First Class.”
According to reports, “X-Men: Apocalypse” is said to be the finale of the latest trilogy after “X-Men: First Class” and “X-Men: Days of the Future Past.” Speculations say that the cast party held in Montreal could be a true wrap for the director and that the latest film will be his farewell gift to avid fans. However, no official word has been given yet by Singer nor Fox.
“X-Men: Apocalypse” will see Singer’s darker approach in directing superhero movies. The upcoming film will go back to the 1970s timeline from “X-Men: Days of the Future Past,” but will conveniently stop in the 1980s where the threat of the world’s oldest mutant pulls McAvoy’s Charles Xavier into his looming circling. The titular villain, Apocalypse also called En Sabah Nur will be played by Oscar Isaac. Isaac has confirmed that his character will alter between Apocalypse’s various forms in his pursuit to assemble his horsemen.
The latest addition to the “X-Men” movie series is also going to re-establish the X-Men universe as the film will introduce new faces for old characters. Newcomers Alexandra Storm, Ben Hardy, Tye Sheridan, and “Game of Thrones” star Sophie Turner will portray Storm, Angel, Cyclops, and Jean Grey, respectively.
Singer stated in an interview that the movie will heavily focus on the titular villain although that direction might seem to be a bit of a gamble. Recently, EW published images of the film’s three major characters—Apocalypse, Psylocke, and Storm. The photo of Apocalypse was widely mocked although it is worth noting that all the images released are pre-CGI.
Reports also claim that Fox’s decision of casting new and younger actors for classic characters is the studio’s way to execute their plan for a soft reboot for the “X-Men” franchise. Digital Trends reports that the latest entry to the growing “X-Men” film franchise will use the reboot to full effect with the reintroduction of younger versions of key characters.
Apparently, Fox’s idea was met with a lot of controversy with fans of the original series claiming that the reboot had little care for how the continuity of future films will work out.
Originally Famke Janssen, James Marsden, and Halle Berry portrayed Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Storm, respectively, in the first “X-Men” trilogy. Unfortunately, no one has been cast as Wolverine yet and speculations are arising that the latest “X-Men” film might be the first “X-Men” movie not to feature franchise veteran Hugh Jackman in his iconic role.