More complex. More violent. Deadlier. The world of Marvel's mutants, never the easiest place to live, crosses into unchartered terrain with X-Men: Apocalypse. As Empire debuts its new X-Men covers here, the new X-trailer shows a bit more of what makes its big bad, Oscar Isaac’s Apocalypse, tick. This is a god with an appetite for destruction. Even the mightiest mutants seems a bit, well, puny in his presence.
The story this time finds Isaac’s Apocalypse awakening in 1983 to discover that the Earth isn't what he intended it to be. So he does what any ancient, staggeringly powerful mutant would do: he sets about altering it in radical ways. But he doesn't count on the X-Men, led by Charles Xavier (James McAvoy).
This third outing for the First Class gang finds them in different places, both physically and mentally. Charles is running his school for gifted youngsters. Raven (Jennifer Lawrence) is off on her own mission, while Magneto (Michael Fassbender) has opted for the quiet life, at least before Apocalypse comes calling.
“[Humanity] bears no respect or devotion to him – that’s the big giant ego of the old god,” explained director Bryan Singer in Empire's exclusive breakdown of the last trailer. “All of it lacks symmetry, order and devotion to him. It needs to be culled. It needs to be wiped away and rebuilt again.”
Also recruited on the side of this vengeful god are Storm (Alexandra Shipp), Angel/Archangel (Ben Hardy) and Psylocke (Olivia Munn). The four horsemen of the... yes, you guessed it.
On the side of the angels are Beast (Nicholas Hoult), Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Jean Grey (Sophie Turner), Havok (Lucas Till), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Jubilee (Lana Condor).
X-Men: Apocalypse lands in the UK on May 18. Keep your eyes out for the X-Men-filled new issue of Empire, onsale on March 31, for a whole lot more on Singer’s latest superhero epic. Head here for Empire's guide to everything you need to know about the movie.