We recently got our first look at Oscar Isaac as the titular villain in X-Men: Apocalypse, and the fan reaction hasn’t been overwhelmingly positive (he’s frequently compared to a Power Ranger villain). That said, the character is still going to be totally badass, and Isaac says we have one hell of a fight in store for us.
When the actor sat down to chat with EW, he teased the big final conflict, which, sounds like it is going massive and completely nuts. Without revealing too much, he said:
I mean that last battle is going to be pretty insane. I mean, it’s like freaking Apocalypse fighting all of the X-Men. It’s pretty cool.
Though this statement isn’t big on specifics, the idea of one of the most powerful villains in the Marvel comic universe throwing down with a ton of our favorite mutant characters, well, that’s enough to get us dancing around and clapping like jabbering idiots in excitement. This isn’t even a surprise, of course the X-Men were going to gather together to take down Apocalypse, they have to, he’s too strong, but just thinking about the possibilities is a lot of fun.
Also known as En Sabah Nur, Apocalypse is a 5000-year-old Egyptian, and rumored to be the first mutant, the first person born with the X-gene—En Sabah Nur translates as "The First One." He travels around, using his powers to convince civilizations that he is a god, manipulating them, disappearing for a time then showing up again and generally causing a ruckus.
While fans aren’t super stoked on his appearance, we haven’t really seen much. And this is just a still photo, we haven’t seen him in action, or with any special effects added. This is basically Oscar Isaac buried under layer upon layer of make up and prosthetics, standing still. We have quite a while before Apocalypse hits, so we can all stay calm for the time being.
Talking about why director Bryan Singer and the production went with this look, Isaac admits there are some changes, but changes born out of necessity. He said:
We had to do some adjustments here and there and be like, alright, maybe this is too alien. He also is someone who people would want to follow and not just be terrified of. So the balance, and then making sure that there’s some great elements from the comic but also making our own thing as well. In the comic, he generally is like 12 feet, 600 pounds.
Given his physical stature, you can understand why they might have to make some adjustments here and there.
Set in 1983, X-Men: Apocalypse is currently filming now in Toronto, and features a ton of familiar characters. However, in many cases, these are younger versions than we’ve seen in earlier X-Men movies, and played by different actors. It’s good for them that there are a lot of mutants, because with Apocalypse’s massive powers, they’re going to need all the help they can get.
X-Men: Apocalypse opens everywhere May 27, 2016.
