After the commercial and critical success of last summer’s ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past,’ expectations are high for the franchise, arguably more so than they have been in years. Some of the excitement surrounding that film was a product of the fact that it represented a crossover of sorts, allowing the established cast from the earlier movies to share the screen with their counterparts from ‘X-Men: First Class.’ While perhaps not ascending to the lofty heights of “every X-Man ever,” we’ve now learned that will next summer’s ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ will nonetheless feature a number of cameos by both past and future X-Men.
Perhaps the least surprising of the cast members who have been confirmed to appear in cameo roles is Hugh Jackman, who has appeared as Wolverine in every ‘X-Men’ film to date, including an especially memorable cameo in ‘X-Men: First Class.’ By contrast, a rather surprising inclusion is that of Halle Berry, who will apparently be sharing the role of Storm with newcomer Alexandra Shipp. The film is also reported to feature the first appearance of Channing Tatum as Gambit, a role formerly played by Taylor Kitsch. Tatum’s role may serve as a lead in to Gambit’s solo film, which is scheduled to be released in October 2016.
In addition to the cameos above, ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ will also feature the debuts of new versions of established characters Cyclops, Jean Grey and Nightcrawler, played by Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner and Kodi Smit-McPhee, as well as Alexandra Shipp’s Storm. Evan Peters and Rose Byrne are also set to return as Moira MacTaggert and Quicksilver alongside the ‘First Class’ incarnations of Magneto, Charles Xavier, Mystique and Beast as they return to conclude the trilogy.
‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ sees Bryan Singer once again return to the director’s chair and stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult and Jennifer Lawrence. The film will be in theaters on May 27, 2016.
