About a month ago, X-Men: Apocalypse screenwriter Simon Kinberg went on the record describing the approach that the new film will be taking towards the new, younger versions of previously established mutants. It was noted that Storm - who will be played by Alexandra Shipp in the upcoming film - is going to be portrayed as a "troubled character" who finds herself heading down the road in life. By itself, this isn't much to go on, but now there is new evidence that makes us wonder if the 2016 blockbuster might feature the weather-controlling hero taking a trip to the dark side as one member of the titular villain's personal guard, The Horsemen of Apocalypse.
The aforementioned evidence is a brand new post that director Bryan Singer has put up on his Instagram page, teasing a "big day" on the set of X-Men: Apocalypse:
You'll notice that many of the names listed on the chairs here make sense being together, given that Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique, Nicholas Hoult's Beast, James McAvoy's Charlies Xavier, Rose Byrne's Moira MacTaggert, Michael Fassbender's Magneto, and Lucas Till's Havoc are all linked through their previously established roles in X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. The outsider in the group - with the exception of the villainous Apocalypse (who will be played by Oscar Isaac) - is Storm, who interestingly isn't joined by any of the other new young mutants in the cast - like Sophie Turner's Jean Grey or Tye Sheridan's Cyclops. Knowing what we know about the film's approach to the character, we're left wondering if this could possibly mean that she is one of the mutants who the eponymous antagonist recruits to be one of his most powerful soldiers.
It's true that there is no real connection to the source material where Storm served as one of Apocalypse's Horsemen (outside of a "What If?" story), but one can understand how the pieces might fit together. In the comics, the god-like mutant has been known to both convince or force individuals to fight by his side as Horsemen, and the combination of Storm's incredible abilities and hinted-at darker path could possibly make her a prime target of which The First One can take advantage. If X-Men: Apocalypse does go in that direction, surely it will be set up that Storm will have a chance at redemption and to become a hero, but giving the character a bit of new backstory as a villain could be very interesting for the franchise going forward.
What do you guys think? Could our theory here by correct, or do you think we're just grasping at straws? Hit the comments with your thoughts!
