There was a lot of excitement in late 2013 when Apocalypse was announced as the next main X-Men movie antagonist. However, when the first X-Men: Apocalypse images of Oscar Isaac’s version of the character were released, many fans didn’t approve of his cinematic look. Since then, many previews have come out showing an Apocalypse who looks more faithful to the comics, and Bryan Singer is firing back at the criticism previously thrown at the Egyptian powerhouse.
While going over the size of X-Men: Apocalypse’s main villain, Singer pointed out to IGN the backlash he’s received in the past over the height or look of certain characters, and detailed why it was important this version of Apocalypse be portrayed with this look. He said:
So then people were like, 'He's small.' I'm like, 'Okay, I got the same shit when I cast a six-foot-three actor to play five-foot-four Wolverine. I got the same sit when Quicksilver's very sweet, 1970s costume was released on an Empire Magazine cover.' You know, every time. I could have made him a giant through the whole movie, or some muscle-bound guy who can't act -- I could always do that. But the reality is, among his many powers -- and you will see him change size -- but among his many powers is his power of persuasion, and it was very important that he'd be able to connect with his horsemen, at their level, and that he'd be played by a guy who can actually act like Oscar, who's a fantastic actor.
As has been made clear in the X-Men: Apocalypse trailers, Apocalypse is the world’s singular most powerful mutant, and those abilities include size manipulation and persuasion. We’ll him demonstrate the former several times (like when fighting Charles Xavier), but it’s the latter that we’ll help draw other mutants to his cause, including the Four Horsemen. So while he will be human-sized for a decent portion of the movie, don’t worry, we’ll eventually him as a hulking figure, like he is in the comics.
Bryan Singer also addressed the first still image of Apocalypse that was released last summer, where he looked pink and drew comparisons to Power Rangers villain Ivan Ooze. Although he pointed out again that the pink was because certain visual effects hadn’t been put in yet (and if you look closely, Storm and Psylocke also looked pink-ish), Singer said that he should have “taken the pink out” before making the picture public. You can reexamine that picture below and compare it to the screenshot above from the latest trailer.
While the live action Apocalypse may not have gotten a great start impressing hardcore fans, the X-Men: Apocalypse previews over the last couple months have made it clear how dangerous he is. This mutant, who views himself as a god, is responsible for the destruction of many civilizations, and when he reawakens in 1983, he’ll use his powers to “cleanse” the entire world in favor of building one that he sees fit, where only the strong survive. The only ones who stand in the way of his global plan are the X-Men.
X-Men: Apocalypse hits theaters on May 27.
