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  1. Movies

Watch the first trailer for X-Men: Apocalypse (plus trailer breakdown)

By Amon Warmann
published 11 December 2015

  • Comments

It's finally here! After many teasers and what felt like a torturous wait, the first trailer for Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse has arrived. Does it answer the many questions left by Days of Future Past? Will it feature more superheroes than a Marvel Cinematic Universe movie? Has Charles finally had a hair cut? Read on and find out in our trailer breakdown...

Directed by Bryan Singer and starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, X-Men: Apocalypse will be released in UK cinemas on May 19, 2016 before making its way to US theatres on May 27, 2016.

Page 1 of 19
Page 1 of 19

Game of Thrones fans will squeal with delight as Sansa Stark (aka Sophie Turner) appears as a young Jean Grey. Alls not well though as the telepath wakes up from a nightmare where shes seen the end of the world. Prof X tucks her back into bed, saying it's just a dream, but were wondering if this is before or after he's locked away the Phoenix?

Page 2 of 19
Page 2 of 19

James McAvoy returns as the young Professor X (although time is moving on now) and although we're pleased to see he's stayed away from the drugs that helped him walk while suppressing his telepathic abilities in Days Of Future Past, we can't help but wonder why he still has his long, luscious locks...

Page 3 of 19
Page 3 of 19

Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) is back at the CIA after her dangerous stint with the X-Men in First Class, but has she got her memories back or is she being kept in the dark? She clearly knows something as the X-Men turn to her for information on the legend of the first mutant.

Page 4 of 19
Page 4 of 19

The trailer explains a bit of backstory for villain Apocalypse, as Moira gives Charles and Alex Summers (aka Havok) a mutant history lesson. "Wherever this being was he always had four followers he would imbue with power, she says. Like the four horsemen of the Apocalypse? He got that one from the Bible, Havok adds. Or the Bible got it from him replies Moira. Either way, the trailer seems to imply that the four horsemen will be Storm, Archangel, Psylocke and Magneto, which begs the question, how do you possible make Magneto more powerful?

Page 5 of 19
Page 5 of 19

Apocalypse will see X-Men Jubilation Lee (aka Jubilee) make her big screen debut with newcomer Lana Condor rocking the characters trademark yellow jacket in the trailer. Not much is know about her storyline, but we can't wait to find out!

Page 6 of 19
Page 6 of 19

Thanks to Professor X's handy voiceover we learn that Apocalypse can control mutants (something to do with him being the first?), which means it's kind of hard to tell which side everyone's on. Has Magneto finally lost it and become the baddie we know and love from the original movies, or is he being controlled by the all-powerful Apocalypse?

Page 7 of 19
Page 7 of 19

Well, we definitely know which side Mystique is on. Its good to see Jennifer Lawrences Raven back on the side of the X-Men after she learnt the error of her ways in Days Of Future Past, but will the gang have trouble trusting her again? We also see a shot of the X-Jet, but the more interesting detail is that Moira is co-piloting... and in her very own X-Men suit! Is she part of the team now?

Page 8 of 19
Page 8 of 19

We're not sure what's going on here, but it's a safe bet it's not something good (nothing says trouble like spooky green lighting...). Unless our eyes deceive us, that's Quicksilver and two others lying completely immobile inside a menacing-looking contraption. Time to wake up maybe?

Page 9 of 19
Page 9 of 19

We've come full circle now as the X-Men we originally met in Bryan Singer's very first movie have been reintroduced as younger versions of themselves in the alternative timeline created by the event of Days of Future Past. Confused? Us too. It's cool to see a young Jean Grey, Kurt Wagner (Nightcrawler) and Scott Summers (Cyclops) together in the trailer though, although Cyclops is already worried about losing control of his powers. Will he be related to Havok like in the comics? Will we see the start of his relationship with Jean Grey? So many questions...

Page 10 of 19
Page 10 of 19

Here we see Michael Fassbender's Magneto in obvious pain, which would lend weight to theory that he's not actually become fully evil, but instead is being controlled by Apocalypse. Or many he's just really upset someone ate the last chocolate biscuit... it's hard to tell.

Page 11 of 19
Page 11 of 19

One of two things is happening here. Either Apocalypse is changing his size at will to become some kind of huge, indestructible villain (something he's done in the comics), or Charles is having a really bad nightmare. Giant baddie or dodgy dream sequence? Who knows!

Page 12 of 19
Page 12 of 19

While Age Of Ultron didn't end too well for the MCU incarnation of Quicksilver, here he's very much alive and played by a returning Evan Peters. While the fast-moving mutant was involved in Days of Future Past he's now obviously a fully-fledged X-Man (with his own uniform and everything!), and apparently a fan of Canadian rockers Rush if this super-speedy scene is anything to go on.

Page 13 of 19
Page 13 of 19

New York doesn't half get it in superhero movies. Once again we see the big apple getting destroyed, as X-Men continues the love of trashing bridges it started in The Last Stand. Note that the Twin Towers can be spotted in the background...

Page 14 of 19
Page 14 of 19

We first saw Angel in The Last Stand played by Ben Foster, but Apocalypse sees Ben Hardy take up the mantle of the heavenly-inspired mutant. The character looks quite different too, with muscles galore and metal wings instead of feathers his Apocalypse-powered Archangel guise.

Page 15 of 19
Page 15 of 19

Alexandra Shipp plays a young Storm in Apocalypse and is rocking one amazing '80s mohawk in the trailer. Although the weather-controlling mutant seems to be on the side of Apocalypse we feel fairly confident that she's being controlled by the big bad and is just waiting for Professor X to rescue her.

Page 16 of 19
Page 16 of 19

After teasing us with side shots and obscured views for the entire trailer, we finally get a proper look at Oscar Isaac's big bad near the end. We have to say, Apocalypse looks pretty menacing and the performance is a million miles away from what we can expect from the actor in The Force Awakens. We don't envy the job of the X-Men. How are they going to take this guy down?

Page 17 of 19
Page 17 of 19

It looks like Apocalypse might be running amok in Cerebro here. If hes searching for other mutants, what does he want with them? And how did he even get into X-Men HQ? This is slightly worrying...

Page 18 of 19
Page 18 of 19

As if the trailer wasn't packed with enough juicy details, the post-credits scene (yes, trailers have them too now...) shows Professor X in all his (bald) glory - and it's about bloody time! James McAvoy looks surprisingly like Patrick Stewart and as to why the character suddenly loses his hair, McAvoy let slip on The Graham Norton Show that it's due to something that happens in the movie. The actor said: He ends up going through something so horrible and physically painful that he literally half pulls his hair out/half it falls out."

Page 19 of 19
Page 19 of 19
  • Comments
Amon Warmann
Amon Warmann
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Amon is a contributing editor and columnist for Empire magazine, but is also a Film and TV writer for GamesRadar+, Total Film, and others. He has also written for NME, Composer Mag, and more, along with being a film critic for TalkSport. He is also the co-host of the Fade to Black Podcast, and a video mashup creator. Can also do a pretty good Bane impersonation.

Following a host of teasers over the past few days from both Bryan Singer and 20th Century Fox, as promised the first trailer for the highly anticipated X-Men: Apocalypse has finally dropped online. Check it out below...

The trailer - which will be attached to screenings of Star Wars: The Force Awakens from next week - puts the spotlight on Oscar Isaac's titular villain Apocalypse, who already comes across as a formidable villain. The action-packed 2 and a half minutes has plenty of great looking shots, from Cyclops unleashing the full power of his optic beams to Apocalypse quickly growing bigger. But perhaps the major takeaway here is that James McAvoy's Professor X has FINALLY had a haircut. It's about damn time!

Directed by Singer and starring James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult, X-Men: Apocalypse will be released in UK cinemas on May 19, 2016 before making its way to US theatres on May 27, 2016.

Images: 20th Century Fox

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