X-Men: Apocalypse – Storm’s New African Origin Details
X-Men Apocalypse: Evan Peters On Quicksilver’s Rise As An X-Man
Screen Rant: Bryan was telling us that this movie is, among other things, about the formation of the X-Men. Is Quicksilver a significant part of that?
Peters actually compared developing the new Quicksilver sequence to making a followup to a major blockbuster:
Screen Rant: We’re used to seeing Magneto as the man who will not be ruled, so it’s a little odd to see him serving a new master.
Where X-Men: Days of Future Past saw mutants exposed to the world, threatening and saving President Nixon, it seemed that the ten year jump to Apocalypse would result in more of the same. But that all changes when Apocalypse arrives on the scene, with little interest in the difference between mutant and human – only the strong over the weak, and order over chaos. Singer explains:
Singer dropped a major hint while we were on the Apocalypse set that, like in the X-Men comics, the powers of the film’s titular villain, En Sabah Nur a.k.a. Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) may be linked to other-worldly sources – something that may explain the above imagery. Here’s how Singer described Apocalypse‘s depiction of the original mutant while we were on set:
Later in the interview, Singer discussed how the time-travel plot device in Days of Future Past allowed the X-Men franchise to reboot within its own continuity – taking a cue from the Marvel Comics source material, where time is just another commonly altered variable. It also shows that they can now take the X-Men anywhere, as Singer explained when talking about how he and his collaborators first decided on playing with time:
Having a partial break from the series with X-Men: First Class – a film Singer was initially attached to direct – helped him immensely Singer explains, and he could see that happening again so he can eventually tell a cosmic X-Men tale:
They may have become the most famous such fighters, but in the modern age, Apocalypse’s four minions are known by the names they’ve already chosen. And for fans of Marvel Comics, they’re not exactly supporting characters. But they aren’t just four random mutants; Bryan Singer explained that he and writer Simon Kinberg’s research into cults, like those which form around Apocalypse a.k.a. En Sabah Nur, provided the basis of the Four Horsemen:
It’s Ororo Munroe (Alexandra Shipp) who first meets Apocalypse when he wakes after millennia, and takes the first spot as his youthful, easily swayed apprentice. As much as Oscar Isaac may claim that the villain’s greatest power is his ability to turn others to his way of thinking, or turn them into pawns in his own plan, Shipp implies that when the two lost souls find one another, it isn’t evil that rears its head – at least not from Storm’s perspective:
Olivia Munn (The Newsroom) is tasked with bringing the heavily trained, psychic-blade-wielding killer Psylocke to life… with her barely-there costume fulfilling the “sexual” side of the cult, at least in sex appeal. But the actress pointed out that each of the Horseman is lost in some way, which is a fact that Apocalypse – like any other successful cult leader – is able to sense, and exploit to his own ends.
Of course, that doesn’t exactly mean that Psylocke is forced to do anything she doesn’t do willingly (unfortunately, the story of how she came to be recruited and re-costumed may not be given much screen time in the finished film). Munn explains:
As a figure capable of bringing together lost souls, Apocalypse doesn’t have much work to do with Erik Lensherr a.k.a. Magneto. Following his public defeat and humiliation in the final act of Days of Future Past, Erik has taken sanctuary in Europe, and begun to carve out a new life for himself. And for the time being, has been proven wrong: hate, fear, and intimidation may not be the most powerful of human (read: non-mutant) emotions. Until he once again loses everything.
At that point, all bets are off. And with nothing but anger to rely on – and a track record of faulty plans to unleash it on humanity – Apocalypse’s offered hand, and an invitation to his amplified Horsemen couldn’t come at a better point, says Fassbender
And finally, we arrive at one of the most memorable of Apocalypse’s Horsemen, in the comics at least: Warren Worthington III a.k.a. Angel (Ben Hardy). Although we didn’t get a chance to hear from Hardy about Angel’s motivations or reason for joining the villain, it’s easy enough to guess. The character’s wings were a minor plot point in X-Men: The Last Stand, with the boy having a difficult time coming to terms with his mutant appendages.
We did, however, get to observe a scene in which Apocalypse ‘recruits’ Warren to his Horsemen, molding his custom armor with waves of his hands, and of course, the telekinetic transformation of Archangel’s wings into metallic blades of death (potentially, anyway). Driving home the idea of both a cult and a family, Psylocke, Magneto and Storm are all present for the ceremony, as explained by Shipp:
There’s no doubt that Apocalypse has chosen four very powerful, and very different mutants for his latest incarnation of his Four Horseman. But they may not stay villains for long, as Shipp and Munn both alluded to the fact that their loyalty to Apocalypse was based on little other than manipulation and the absence of an actually strong role model in mutant-ing. Could their priorities or perspectives change once they actually meet the X-Men? We’ll just have to wait and see.
