Bryan Singer compares X-Men: Apocalypse to Game of Thrones

This year sees the release of X-Men: Apocalypse, the latest mutant outing that plans to bring the world to its knees in "the biggest X-Men movie" to date. The scale of the sequel is partly down to the big bad, Apocalypse, who instigates extinction-level theatrics along with the sheer number of characters involved. That tangled web of young and old mutants will see the film take its cues from one of HBO's most popular character-driven series.

In a recent interview, Singer excitedly discusses the upcoming movie and name-drops one source of inspiration for the film's narrative drive, citing George R.R. Martin's epic medieval fantasy tale. "I’m a huge Game Of Thrones fan," Singer tells Yahoo Movies. "There’s a crossover [of ideas] between X-Men and Game Of Thrones, they’re both about a younger generation finding their powers, finding out who they are, and what their place in the world is. I like how the show’s about different groups of people moving towards a common goal. They don’t even know if that’s the right goal, who wants to sit on that uncomfortable throne? I don’t! Everyone in King’s Landing is miserable. But for some reason they want that power."

That drive for power is what motivated many of the X-Men in previous entries. Magneto, for one, has longed for the type of control that a figure like Apocalypse wields. With Oscar Isaac's power-hungry baddie intent on ending the world, we can expect to see some global catastrophes the likes of which have never been explored in the mutant cinematic universe.

"There's a lot more destruction and loss in this film than we've had in the previous movies," producer Simon Kinberg adds. "We weren't afraid to go to darker, heavier places than we've done in these films so far." Darker, heavier and sharing ideas with Game of Thrones? Place your bets now on which X-Man won't make it out alive...

Directed by Bryan Singer and starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence, Nicholas Hoult, Olivia Munn, Sophie Turner, Tye Sheridan and Evan Peters, X-Men: Apocalypse brings the doom to UK cinemas on May 19, before opening in US theatres on May 27.

Images: Fox/HBO