One of the X-Men’s Biggest Foes: Apocalypse

To the surprise of most everyone, Bryan Singer took to Twitter to tease us with X-Men: Apocalypse, the follow up to the upcoming X-Men: Days of Future Past. This announcement, along with the news that Fox has signed Simon Kinberg on to a three year deal to expand the X-Men and Fantastic Four universes, shows that the studio is extremely confident about Days of Future Past and the general future of their superhero properties.

#Xmen#Apocalypse 2016!

— Bryan Singer (@BryanSinger) December 5, 2013

The modifier for this new X-Men film refers to the infamous villain Apocalypse, who gained notoriety in the popular comic-book story line “The Age of Apocalypse.” This particular arch took place in an alternate timeline where Professor Charles Xavier (played by Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy in the X-Men films to date) has been murdered before forming the X-Men. In his place, Magneto (Ian McKellen/Michael Fassbender) leads the team through a post-apocalyptic America ruled by mutants.

ComingSoon has speculated that the time-travel storyline that’s featured in Days of Future Past could lead to a Marvel Studios-esque tag that will set up the Apocalypse sequel. The character Apocalypse plays an antagonist role very similar to Thanos, who appeared on celluloid in the mid-credits scene of the Avengers film. Apocalypse will be the biggest, most dramatic villain that the X-Men have faced so far in the films.

The only details for this sequel that have been confirmed is the release date: May 27, 2016. It’s more than likely that both Kinberg and Singer will be attached the project in some capacity, but it’s unsure whether Singer’s involvement will include him returning to the director’s chair.