With the time altering events of X-Men Days of Future Past, the stage was set for audiences to meet new versions of the characters that have become staples of this successful franchise.“ X-Men Apocalypse is very much a culmination of the X-Men movies that we have been doing with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicolas Hoult. But it also showcases the origins of these big iconic characters like Scott, Jean Grey, Storm, Nightcrawler and Angel.” explains producer and screenwriter Simon Kinberg. “I like this notion that the movie is sort of the passing of the torch from one generation to the next. It pushed us in a very interesting direction.”

As one of the main architect of the X-Men universe on the big screen, director Bryan Singer felt up to the challenge of giving new faces to very familiar characters. “This was something that we did in X-Men First Class” a film Singer produced. “We took characters that we had seen before and explore them in a time that was completely different that we had seen. So I was so excited to try to do that again with a new cast.”

The newcomers in this all-star ensemble are Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan, Alexandra Shipp and Ben Hardy who respectively get to show the audience what Jean Grey, Cyclops, Storm and Angel were like as teenagers. “I had worked with the older version of those characters so many years ago.” says Bryan Singer who started the franchise by directing the first two films. “So after having done the mature version of those characters it was fun to get to work with new actors to bring to life different moments in their lives. In this film, we see them before they were formed and how they get to evolve. That was very exciting.”

Even with Singer’s guidance the new cast was very much aware of the challenge of taking over such important characters within the X-Men universe. “This story is set years and years before the audience met them as adults in the other films” explains Tye Sheridan “I think there was a lot of freedom for all us to play these characters in a new way. We have roles that have been played by different actors in the past but we have the luxury of getting to do a completely different take on those characters.”

For the actors getting to do something new was the key to taking ownership of their roles. “I felt because in Days of Future Past the timeline reset, that allowed me not to have to worry all the time about what Ben Foster had done, particularly because I think he is a great actor and I respect the work that he did as Angel in X-Men The Last Stand.” says Ben Foster. “But don’t get us wrong” clarifies Alexandra Shipp, “It is still is nerve wracking to have to follow the steps of such amazing actors. But at the same time we can allow that fear to destroy us or inspire us.”

Providing the inspiration was a surprising twist that has both Storm and Angel joining forces with Apocalypse, the film’s main antagonist and the most powerful mutant to walk the earth. For Hardy, the upgrade to becoming one of the fourth horsemen of this Apocalypse proved to be a daunting challenge. “You might have seen Angel in Last Stand but here you get Archangel which is very exciting” says the actor of the transformation that required rigorous training before the cameras even started shooting. “The biggest challenge for me was the weight and size of the wings and how that affects my posture and my movement.” explains Hardy. “To work on that I was given a ten foot pole, that I placed over my shoulders all the time so I could get used to be moving around that way and get a sense of what it would be really like. That was key to getting the movement in the fight scenes just right.”

Angel is not the only horseman who gets to try out a new set of fighting skills in the film’s climatic showdown. “There’s a lot cool stuff I get to try.” says Alexandra Shipp “I get to fly around, I get to shoot lightning bolts. I also get to travel through lightning which is a really cool new thing we get to showcase. We really get to display Storm’s big powers in this film”

Two characters who are forever intertwined with Professor X and his X-Men are Scott Summers and Jean Grey. Besides having to step up to the challenge a getting a new version of these characters to the screen, both Sophie Turner and Tye Sheridan get to live out a childhood dream: getting to play their favorite comic book character on the big screen. “When I was really young my brothers used to read the comics, so I always stole a couple of ones from them. And Jean was always my favorite. “recalls Sophie Turner. “She is one of the biggest icon of the X-Men universe so it was a huge honor being ask to step into those shoes.”

For Sophie Turner, who worldwide audiences known as Sansa Stark on HBO’s Game of Thrones, the key to taking ownership of the role was her collaboration with her director. “It was daunting joining this cast, just because of all the expectations that it carries. But it’s not like there was some X-Men initiation I had to worry about. And you quickly find out that Bryan is very open to ideas and trying new things so any fears on that side quickly vanished.”

Even with wildly different challenges, the new cast agrees that it is precisely that focus on character that sets apart the X-Men Movies from other superhero movies. “I think that what sets this film apart and will make audiences love this is that it presents so many journeys within the Universe of the X-Men” explains Ben Hardy. ” I love that all of our characters get to go through something. And to that you add this epic battle with a super villain. It’s a complete X-men experience.”

X-Men: Apocalypse is now available to own on Blu-ray and DVD, now available in video stores nationwide.

Watch the full trailer of “X-Men Apocalypse” below:

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