While most superhero movies feature a variety of visual effects, it’s always great to see these production utilize good ol’ fashioned special effects, i.e. the practical stuff not created by a computer. In X-Men: Apocalypse’s case, they’re currently working on something so big, it’s going to shake things up for the 2016 blockbuster. You’ll understand how that’s a pun once you check out the video below:
Continuing to give fans glimpses into the behind-the-scenes work of the latest X-Men installment, director Bryan Singer posted this video on Instagram of a "motion base" that’s being used to shake up a set - the contents of which remain a mystery. Whichever actors are in that room are clearly getting a bumpy ride, so hopefully they don’t get too nauseated.
This almost certainly has to do with a special ability being unleashed, and since there hasn’t been a mutant with earthquake powers announced to appear, my first guess is that this somehow involves Storm. Her weather manipulating abilities, whether it’s creating mist or unleashing lightning, make her one of the most powerful mutants in the world. Even though we’ll be seeing a teenage Storm, played by Alexandra Shipp, her powers will likely be just as powerful - though she may not have complete control over them. So if someone in that is upsetting her, then she accidentally trigger a violent weather phenomenon, causing the room to shake.
Whatever is happening with this stop-motion room, it’s just the tip of the iceberg when it comes to the special and visual effects in X-Men: Apocalypse. With one of the biggest X-Men casts in the franchise’s 15-plus year history, moviegoers will see a variety of superpowers on the big screen. There will be classics like Magneto’s magnetism and Mystique’s shapeshifting; favorites we haven’t seen in a while like Cyclops’ optic blasts and Nightcrawler’s teleporting; and even a few new ones like Jubilee’s energy plasmoids. Actor Ben Hardy even recently Tweeted a photo of himself practicing his "flying" as Angel in a wind tunnel.
While those are exciting enough on their own, fans will be in for a treat when practical and digital effects will be combined for the titular villain of the movie. It’s been previously stated that Apocalypse live-action debut will be realized through a combination of physical alteration to actor Oscar Isaac as well as throwing in some robotic technology, so we may actually get an Apocalypse that closely resembles his comic book counterpart.
You can see all these effects fully realized when X-Men: Apocalypse is released in theaters on May 27, 2016.
