Bryan Singer is on the hunt for fresh talent to play the younger versions of series favorites Jean Grey and Scott Summers (and Storm as well, but no news has been released on that front so far). It seems the plan is to hire a well-known/ experienced actress for the role of Jean Grey, hence casting rumors that Chloe Moretz and Elle Fanning have already been in talks with Singer, while Hailee Steinfeld’s name has also been thrown around. Sources do point out that no official offers have been made yet, and there are many other names in the mix, so at this point anyone really could be considered for the role. And for re-casting Scott Summers/Cyclops, it seems Singer is more open to casting a relatively unknown in the role. So far the names being thrown out for Cyclops are Ben Hardy (‘East Enders’), Charlie Rowe (‘Red Band Society’), and Timothee Chalamet (‘Interstellar’), all of which would be welcome additions to the cast.

Jean Grey and Cyclops are important roles in the X-Men universe, and one cannot help but wonder at the importance of their being re-cast, both for this movie and for the future of the franchise. An attempt at the Phoenix saga was made during the disappointing, “X-Men: The Last Stand,” but the events of ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ seem to have erased that movie (based on Jean and Scott being alive in the future Wolverine returns to). So does this mean Singer could be planning to do justice to the Phoenix Saga and tell the tale as it always should have been told? This nerdy fan-boy certainly hopes so, but we’ll see if 20th Century Fox would even allow a repeat of a storyline (even if the first time around the story was badly mangled).

The casting news is based off a statement released by producer Simon Kinberg who stated that ‘Xmen: Apocalypse” will not only take the franchise in a new direction, but will also be showing the young versions of Jean Grey, Cyclops and Storm.

The creative team plans to start shooting in the spring of 2015, with the film to be released on May 27, 2016. Here’s to hoping they can keep the same quality and inventiveness they had for ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ !

Source: The Wrap