The X-Men are one of the most well-known—and beloved—superhero teams of all time for a reason. The property is a showcase for a wide range of visually fantastic powers and abilities, sure, but more often than not these attributes serve a larger thematic purpose. The X-Men are outsiders, and their persecution simply because they’re different speaks to the human experience at large. So when anX-Menmovie was finally being made, we all knew the comics served as a solid foundation for a potentially great feature film story, but the film world of 1999 was markedly different than the one we’re in now.
With the 2000 release ofX-Men, directorBryan Singerchallenged what a “superhero movie” could be by boldly choosing to open the film with a sequence set at Auschwitz during World War II. The movie as a whole embraced the fantastical aspect of the comics material while grounding the entire story in the real world, with superheroes that were cool and different, but also incredibly relatable both from a character and thematic standpoint. And with Singer’s brilliant decision to use a very confused Wolverine as an audience surrogate, with a “this is very ridiculous” attitude towards the entire concept of a team of super-mutants, the movie bridged the gap between comics fans and general moviegoers.
The franchise has flourished and thrived over the past decade and a half, evolving and shifting along with the superhero genre as a whole, but never losing its identity (well okay,almostnever—the less said aboutThe Last StandandX-Men Origins: Wolverinethe better). And with this May’s sixth proper installment (ninth in the “X-MenUniverse”)X-Men: Apocalypse, Singer returns for his third time in the director’s chair to simultaneously conclude, begin, and expand various aspects of theX-Mensaga.
In the middle of July, 2015 I found myself standing in a room with mutants. Psylocke was practicing her sword moves quietly to herself, Magneto and Apocalypse were chatting it up, Storm was getting her Mohawk retouched, and Archangel was in the process of having some face tattoos applied. Not only was I in close proximity to some of the most exciting actors working today, but I was on the set of anX-Menmovie;the biggestX-Menmovie, to be precise, and while I was technically working, I couldn’t ignore the fact that my childhood dream of seeing these mutants in the flesh was literally coming true.
This all happened just a week after directorBryan Singerand his full cast showed up at San Diego Comic-Con to debut the first footage fromX-Men: Apocalypse, at which time myself and a small group of reporters were invited to the Montreal set of the newX-Menmovie. During our two days on set, we witnessed the filming of two crucial scenes, spoke with actors both new and veteran to the franchise, and took part in an epic, candid, hour plus-long interview with Singer himself. It was an intimate glimpse into the making of not only a massive franchise film of 2016, but also the next installment in what is one of the hallmark film series responsible for the current superhero movie climate.
So what did I see getting filmed? Well the first day we were in an active paper manufacturing facility, which was doubling as mutant Angel’s (Ben Hardy) hideout. Set in 1983, this superhero sequel finds the ancient mutant Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) waking up after centuries of rest and setting out to bring order to humanity on a global scale. To achieve this, he rounds up four mutants—the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse—to both protect and aid him in bending the world to his will. For this particular scene, Apocalypse and three previously gathered Horsemen—Psylocke (Olivia Munn), Magneto (Michael Fassbender), and Storm (Alexandra Shipp)—were conversing with Angel, culminating in Apocalypse expanding Angel’s powers in abigway.
While the production didn’t allow us to hear the audio of the scene (don’t worry folks, no spoilers here), wedidwitness a pretty incredible feat of performance by Fassbender, who turned emotional on a dime as he was deep in telepathic conversation withJames McAvoy’s Professor X, all the while Apocalypse ran his hands over Angel while Storm and Psylocke stood in awe of the massive armor that will emerge once the visual effects are added in. This scene, as we learned later from our epic interview with Singer, evolved on the day as Singer, Fassbender, Isaac, and screenwriter/producerSimon Kinbergwere inspired to diverge from the script’s original plan—something not uncommon on theX-Menset, which usually results in bursts of creative inspiration that may or may not find their way into the finished film.
And on our second day on set, we were driven out to a large property on the outskirts of Montreal, where Raven (Jennifer Lawrence), Hank (Nicholas Hoult), Quicksilver (Evan Peters), Moira MacTaggert (Rose Byrne) and some of the new young mutants like Cyclops (Tye Sheridan), Nightcrawler (Kodi Smit-McPhee) and Jubilee (Lana Candor) were involved in the filming of a massive action set piece on Professor X’s mansion grounds, along with a hundred or so teenaged extras. To explain exactly what was going on would be a spoiler, but suffice it to say that something happens at the mansion that puts the aforementioned mutants in mortal danger.
The set itself was wildly impressive, with greenscreen filling in most of the mansion aside from some key practical details like a garden entrance and, well, some rubble here and there. Given the technical difficulty of shooting the scene, there was plenty of downtime during which the cast needed to remain in the grass, in their positions. Naturally, to pass the time, Jennifer Lawrence and Evan Peters led a rendition ofAerosmith’s “Sweet Emotion.”
From my time on set and during my bevy of interviews with the cast and filmmakers, I learneda lotabout what to expect fromX-Men: Apocalypseand beyond. Below, I’ve compiled an extensive list of 78 key things to know about the film. I’ll be sharing much more from my set visit over the coming days and weeks, but for a deeper dive check out the below links.
