X-Men: Apocalypse Trivia

Trivia about X-Men: Apocalypse.

• Bryan Singer chose Apocalypse as the antagonist to examine the origins of mutants on Earth: "Historical mutants has always intrigued me when we think about our Gods and our history and miracles and powers".
• Bryan Singer confirmed that the film will take place in the 1980s, and will feature other familiar X-Men characters in their youth, mentioning Storm, Cyclops, and Jean, with Simon Kinberg confirming that the film takes place in 1983.
• According to Simon Kinberg, this will contain more mass destruction than any of the previous X-Films: "We've spent the most time talking about is creating a character that's the most powerful mutant villain that we've seen in the X-Men movies so far - more powerful than Magneto or the Phoenix! The kind of scope and scale we're talking about is like a disaster movie featuring an extinction-level event. We're talking Michael Bay/Roland Emmerich-style movie-making, which you've never seen in an X-Men movie, or any superhero movie."
• According to Simon Kinberg, Apocalypse is the darkest villain in the series: "In the X-Men there really are two leaders: Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto his Brotherhood and Professor Xavier and his X-Men. Apocalypse presents a new mutant leader, a super-charismatic leader that will draw people to his cause. But he's not just somebody who's out there destroying the world because he can. What he's doing is - in his mind - justified and validated by a really compelling, coherent philosophy."
• Apocalypse's title "En Sabah Nur" means "The First One" in Arabic, but also means "Morning Light" in Turkish.
• Channing Tatum and Bryan Singer have expressed their desire to feature as Gambit in the film. In June 2015, Tatum confirmed that Gambit will not be part of the film.
• Tom Hardy and Idris Elba were considered for the role of Apocalypse.
• Simon Kinberg explains that thanks to the time-travelling consequences of X-Men: Days of Future Past, history has been altered so that some mutants have turned out differently than in the previous films. This has enabled new versions of old characters to potentially exist and appear in these films (Gambit and Deadpool).
• Although not in the movie, Charles Xavier actor Patrick Stewart jokingly informed Bryan Singer that he would be willing to play Mystique should Jennifer Lawrence "start playing up". He said: "I am so ready to be naked, painted blue, and the world is ready for it too."
• Hugh Jackman announced that X-Men: Apocalypse and Wolverine will be his last portrayal as Wolverine. He will be retiring from the role after playing the character since 2000.
• According to Simon Kinberg, this will be the final film in the First Class story arc, which also consisted of X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. Kinberg calls this film the culmination of Xavier and Lensherr's relationship: "First Class was about Erik becoming empowered, the origin story of a man's power. Days of Future Past was about Charles becoming empowered, a guy who is a mess but masterminds the end of a massive event. This film has them both at their peak and finally going at each other!"
• This is Bryan Singer's fourth X-Men film (fifth superhero film overall). This breaks the record set by Sam Raimi and Christopher Nolan, who managed to direct three superhero films (Spider-Man and Batman, respectively).
• Simon Kinberg describes this film as the culmination of Xavier and Lehnsherr's relationship: "X-Men: First Class was about Eric becoming empowered, the origin story of a man's power. X-Men: Days of Future Past was about Charles becoming empowered, a guy who is a mess but masterminds the end of a massive event. This film has them both at their peak and finally going at each other!"
• For the role of Charles Xavier, James McAvoy shaved his head. It was something he did when he first signed onto X-Men: First Class, but had to undergo 24 hours of hair extensions for the film.
• Taylor Kitsch wanted to reprise his role of Gambit, in which he was portrayed in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, but Fox wanted someone else to take over the role. Channing Tatum then was cast for his solo film instead.
• Bryan Singer has confirmed the film will take place in 1983 and will feature other familiar characters in their youth.
• According to Simon Kinberg, this will be the final film in the First Class trilogy.
• Elle Fanning, Chloë Grace Moretz, Hailee Steinfeld, Lily Collins, Margot Robbie, Daisy Ridley, Sasha Pieterse and Saoirse Ronan were considered for the role of Jean Grey before Sophie Turner as cast.
• Timothée Chalamet, Ben Hardy, Charlie Rowe, Taron Egerton, Logan Lerman, Josh Hutcherson, Dylan O'Brien, Jesse Plemons and Jamie Blackley were considered for the role of Cyclops/Scott Summers, before Tye Sheridan was cast. Ben Hardy would later be cast in the role of Angel.
• Bryan Singer confirmed on Instagram that Alex and Scott Summers are indeed brothers in the film.
• Xavier's wheelchair in the teaser trailer is the same one Patrick Stewart used in X-Men.
• This will be the first time that the Summers brothers, Scott Summers (Cyclops) and Alex Summers (Havoc), appear together in a live-action movie. In the comics, there was another brother, Gabriel Summers (Vulcan), but he has not appeared in any shows/movies so far and the filmmakers decided two brothers in a film was enough.
• Writer Simon Kinberg has stated that he and Bryan Singer have talked about this film being the origin of the traditional X-Men team and hopes future films will follow this "next generation of X-Men characters" following on from X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past and X-Men: Apocalypse.
• This is be Betsy Braddock/Psylocke's first major appearance; she had a minor role in X-Men: The Last Stand.
• The second X-Men movie to feature the Danger Room, after X-Men: The Last Stand.
• In the comics, the Age of Apocalypse affected the Marvel Universe entirely and resulted in the deaths of prominent characters such as Peter Parker (who never becomes Spider-Man), Namor, Clint Barton, Thor, Carol Danvers, Frank Castle, Victor von Doom, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm and many others. In contrast, Gwen Stacy who famously dies in the main universe, is alive. The Age of Apocalypse is an alternate reality identified as "Earth-295".
• Bryan Singer describes Apocalypse as a mutant acting as a god, saying: "Apocalypse's from an ancient time and doesn't understand he's a mutant. He thinks of himself as more of a god. He's a hard man to break, it's why he thinks he's God. And the big giant ego of the god is that the world lacks order and respect/devotion to him. It needs to be culled, it needs to be wiped away and rebuilt."
• Bryan Singer has called this film "kind of a conclusion of six X-Men films, yet a potential rebirth of younger, newer characters" and the "true birth of the X-Men".
• Apocalypse's quote, "Everything they built will fall! And from the ashes of their world, we'll build a better one!" is almost a direct quote of his from the animated series X-Men ("From the ashes of this world, I will build a better one!").
• As well as making his usual cameo appearance, Stan Lee appears with his wife for his cameo in this film.
• This is the second film appearance for Nightcrawler since his debut on X2: X-Men United.
• The final trailer for the film ended with confirmation of an appearance by Hugh Jackman's Wolverine. This will make it his eight time donning the claws (as its come to be known), with one more scheduled appearance in the as of yet untitled Wolverine 3. Jackman has previously stated 3 will be his last time as Wolverine, with nine total appearances. This gives Jackman the rare distinction of appearing as the same character in nine different films spanning nearly twenty years. He has appeared in every X-Men movie, with the exception of Deadpool. It has been rumored however, that Jackman could play Wolverine in a Deadpool/Wolverine team up movie, or more likely an X-Force adaptation which has reportedly been in development. If that is to come to pass then Jackman will have appeared as Wolverine ten times, a very rare distinction.
• When the students are leaving the cinema there is a self-referencing joke that the third movie in any series is the worst. This is the third movie in the re-time-lined X-men universe, following on from First Class and Days of Future Past. It can also be seen as a jab at X-Men: The Last Stand.
• In the original trilogy, Angel, Psylocke and Jubilee are portrayed as younger than Cyclops, Jean, Storm and Nightcrawler. However, Jubilee is being portrayed as the same age as the four, while Psylocke and Angel are now older.
• It was rumored that the mutant Dazzler will make an appearance in the movie, according to writer Simon Kinberg.
• According to Bryan Singer, Apocalypse's voice is a mixture of different sounds: "He's bearing the souls of many lives and many characters. He has contained within him many voices, all taken from various ranges and tones." To get this voice, the sound department used three microphones - a bass mic, a bass drum mic and a Sennheiser mic - for Oscar Isaac when recording his lines, and then mixed those voices together to create an otherworldly sound.
• Despite having a small cameo at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past, Famke Janssen expressed her disappointment about not being asked to appear in this movie. She said she would have loved to appear alongside Sophie Turner in a scene with two Jean Greys.
• For her role as Psylocke, Olivia Munn was advised by James McAvoy to practice sword-fighting: "I learnt to use a regular sword with both hands, so I can switch in between a real sword and a CGI blade. It's more work for the special effects guys but it's pretty cool."
• Kodi Smit-McPhee (Kurt Wagner/Nightcrawler) was originally set to play young Logan/Wolverine in X-Men Origins: Wolverine but stepped out of the role in order to film The Road.
• This is Peter Maximoff/Quicksilver's fifth cinematic appearance, after a cameo in X-Men Origins: Wolverine, the post-credits scene in Captain America: The Winter Soldier, and major appearances in X-Men: Days of Future Past and Avengers: Age of Ultron.
• Bryan Singer had turned down X-Men: The Last Stand to make Superman Returns. This film uses concepts he had planned to use in The Last Stand.
• The song playing on the scene when Apocalypse finds Angel is from the heavy metal band "Metallica". It's called "The Four Horsemen" form the album "Kill 'Em All", released on 1983.
• Amber Stevens West and Zendaya Coleman were considered for the role of Storm before Alexandra Shipp was cast.
• Alexandra Shipp shaved her head to sport a Mohawk as Storm.
• Particularly on Psylocke, Storm, Cyclops and Mystique, the outfits and characters' looks were designed to pay homage to its comic book counterparts, differently from past films when the X-men used standart black leather uniforms. Cyclops' costume is taken from Jim Lee's blue and yellow design in the 90s.
• This is "X-Men" creator Stan Lee's fourth cameo in an X-Men film.
• When arriving at Storm's home, Apocalypse interacts with the television. Whenever he is not in contact with the TV, it is showing the Star Trek episode "Who Mourns for Adonais?" which features a superior powered being acting as a God in an attempt to control mortal men in a mirror story to Apocalypse own behavior.
• This is Jubilation Lee/Jubilee's first major appearance, after appearing in Generation X and having minor roles in the first three X-Men films.
• In the comics, Elizabeth Braddock/Psylocke was born a British Caucasian who later permanently swapped bodies with a Japanese ninja named Kwannon. The actress of Psylocke, Olivia Munn, is of Eurasian descent, which combines both comic nationalities.
• Taron Egerton turned down the role of Cyclops.
• Josh Helman is the first actor in the X-Men franchise to play William Stryker more than once.
• It was rumored that the film would be the final film of the "X-Men" film franchise. The rumor was false and that two more films "X-Force" and The New Mutants were planned and are being developed.
• Apocalypse's appearance was severely criticized by fans and Internet commentators in general with many comparing it to Ivan Ooze from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers: The Movie, and criticizing Oscar Isaac's normal size. Bryan Singer justified that it was the pink colored effect on the picture, and remarked that Apocalypse is able to change his size. In contrast, when Hugh Jackman was announced as Wolverine in X-Men, fans complained that he was too tall for the role (Jackman is 6' 2 as opposed to the character's 5' 3 in the comics).
• The trailer for the film attracted controversy from the Indian government for it using the name of the Indian deity Krishna as an assumed identity of a mutant villain. The final theatrical cut removes the Krishna reference and replaced it with godlike figures from other cultures.
• To prepare for her role as Jean Grey, Sophie Turner studied Famke Janssen's performance as Grey in the previous X-Men films.
• Other members of the Four Horsemen in the comic who are not members of the faction in this movie are Wolverine and Caliban.
• In the movie, Havok is the elder brother of Cyclops. In the comics, Cyclops is elder than Havok.
• Oscar Isaac is the third "Star Wars" actor to work on an X-Men film, after Ray Park, who played Toad in X-Men and Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace, and Rose Byrne, who played the handmaiden Dormé in Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones.
• This film takes place in a reset timeline.
• Sophie Turner shares similarities with her predecessor Famke Janssen:
  • Neither are natural redheads; Turner is blonde and Janssen is brunette
  • Both are European; Turner is British and Jansen is Dutch
  • Both are an inch taller than their co-stars playing Cyclops; Tye Sheridan is 5'8" while Turner is 5'9," and James Marsden is 5'10 while Janssen is 5'11"
  • Both are older than their co-stars playing Cyclops; Turner is 9 months older than Tye Sheriden and Janssen is 9 years older than James Marsden
• In the comics, William Stryker is actually a religious fanatic and televangelist with a military past and a unequivocal hatred of mutants. He committed hate crimes against mutants as a leader to his secret paramilitary group, the Purifiers. His comic book debut "God Loves, Man Kills" was a main inspiration for X2: X-Men United.
• This is Ben Hardy's feature film debut; he previously starred in the British soap opera EastEnders for two years, before recently leaving the role.
• Lana Condor describes her role of Jubilee as a timepiece: "If you've seen my costume, like I'm straight out of the '80's, like they literally took me out. You'll never really forget that you're in the '80's."
• Bryan Singer has described X-Men: Apocalypse as "A big monster of a movie."
• Sophie Turner is the second Game of Thrones cast member to join the X-Men franchise, with Peter Dinklage being the first.
• During the sequence in Auschwitz the camp seems to be abandoned and deserted. In reality the camp was turned into a museum in 1947.
• In the comics, Betsy Braddock/Psylocke (Olivia Munn) is the twin of Captain Britain. However, the character is not set to feature in this film or any upcoming marvel projects.
• Tuesday Knight launched a failed campaign via social media, in an attempt to be cast as the mutant Dazzler.
• Michael Fassbender (Magneto) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Nightcrawler) are enemies in this film. Fassbender and Smit-McPhee had previously worked together on Slow West, where they played allies.
• First X-Men movie directed by Bryan Singer not have a positive reception from movie critics (As of May 2016, Rotten Tomatoes gave this film a rating of 52% positive).
• The piece of classical music we hear within the movie is Ludwig van Beethoven's "7th Symphony Major, 2nd Movement - Allegretto in A Minor". This piece of music was also heard towards the end of Knowing. Both films starred Rose Byrne.
• Bryan Singer compared this film to Game of Thrones, saying: "It's a younger generation finding their powers and finding out who they are and their place in the world. They don't even know if that's the right goal. Everyone's miserable, but they want to get that power."
• This is the first film ever to feature all of the major "blue" mutants -- Mystique, Beast, and Nightcrawler all have major roles in the film. However, Dr. Hank McCoy (Beast) does appear outside of his blue form in X2: X-Men United.
• Jamie Chung was interested for the role of Psylocke.
• It was revealed that Carter Jenkins and Kaya Scodelario were cast as Northstar and Aurora which turned out to be an April's Fool Day joke.
• Jubilee, Nightcrawler, Jean and Scott are seen leaving the theater after watching Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi. Oscar Isaac, who plays villain Apocalypse, starred in Star Wars: Episode VII - The Force Awakens.
• Nicholas Hoult and Tye Sheridan previously starred together in Dark Places (2015).
• Ben Hardy is the second actor with the first name Ben to portray Angel in the franchise, the first one being Ben Foster in X-Men: The Last Stand.
• Fourth Marvel movie to feature a Star Wars reference, after Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Deadpool and Captain America: Civil War. This is not including the right hand references.
• Olivia Munn, who portrays Psylocke, previously starred with Ice Cube in Ride Along 2 and Alexandra Shipp, who portrays Ororo Munro/Storm, previously starred with O'Shea Jackson Jr., his son, and portrayed his wife, Kim, in Straight Outta Compton.

• Both Michael Fassbender (Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto) and Kodi Smit-McPhee (Kurt Warner/Nightcrawler) starred together in Slow West.
• Released 10 years after the release of X-Men: The Last Stand.
• Quicksilver's X-Mansion run lasts three minutes, but took three and a half months to film; Evan Peters spent more time on set than any other actor on the film. The sequence was shot with 3-D Phantom cameras traveling at 50 mph, while shooting at 3100 frames per second.
• Simon Kinberg explains that, thanks to the time-travelling consequences of X-Men: Days of Future Past, history has been altered so that some mutants have turned out differently than in the previous films. This has enabled new versions of old characters to potentially exist and appear in these films (Cyclops, Jean Grey, Storm, Angel, Nightcrawler, Blob, William Stryker, Wolverine).
• In the comics, Nightcrawler's parents are Mystique and Azazel. In the Days of Future Past comic, Mystique finds an autopsy with a photo of Azazel, leading her to cry. This could be a hint that Azazel died (along with Riptide, Emma Frost and Tempest) whilst she was pregnant with Nightcrawler.
• The appearance of Psylocke in this film is intended to lead into X-Force. Psylocke is a member of the X-Force team.
• Jennifer Lawrence has revealed this is her last appearance as Mystique. X-Men: Apocalypse is also, at the moment, the last contracted film for James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Nicholas Hoult, but they have expressed interest in doing more, if the scripts are good.
• The Four Horsemen that Apocalypse recruits in this film are: Storm (Famine), Magneto (War), Archangel (Death) and Psylocke (Pestilence). Archangel and Psylocke had been Horsemen in the comics (Angel was an original member, and Psylocke became a Horseman in the "Uncanny X-Force" comic), and Storm and Magneto were Horsemen in the animated series X-Men: Evolution.
• In the final battle scene, Jean Grey is shown in a flaming image representing her Phoenix status just as Apocalypse is defeated. His final words are potentially referential to the future of the comic book time-lines where Phoenix is responsible for the destruction of mankind. Ultimately Phoenix would be responsible for fulfilling Apocalypse's goals.
• Kurt Wagner's teenage appearance is influenced by his appearance in X-Men: Evolution, where he was a student at Xavier's school and often crossed paths with his mother Mystique.
• The after-credit scene references the Essex Group and Weapon X making it likely that Nathaniel Essex / Mister Sinister is to be the antagonist for the upcoming third Wolverine movie. Logan's blood sample is also taken by Sinister (known for conducting genetic experiments) This might also lead to an on screen appearance for X23 in the Wolverine 3 film
• The film redoes the events of X-Men Origins: Wolverine:
  • Blob makes an appearance as a fighter
  • William Stryker founds Weapon X
  • Wolverine gets his metal claws and escapes Weapon X.
• The post-credit scene reveals that Essex Corp is getting sample of the Weapon X. In the comics, Essex is Mister Sinister, who in "X-Cutioner's Song" comic line, impersonates Apocalypse. In the "Age of Apocalypse" comic, Mister Sinister is one of Apocalypse's Four Horsemen and the foster father of Cyclops and Havok.
• Angel is presented in a blue light when he first gets his metal wings, which makes his skin look blue. In the comics, Angel was given metal wings and blue skin by Apocalypse.
• Storm becomes a Horseman of Apocalypse, akin to a goddess. In the comics, she was at one point worshiped as a goddess in Africa.
• Erik (Fassbender) and Charles (McAvoy) share the same/very similar dialog at the end of this movie and at the end of X-Men movie as Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart in the plastic prison.
• Jean, as the Phoenix, method of defeating Apocalypse is taken from the "Ultimate X-Men" comics.
• Apocalypse has the power to move between bodies. This is not his traditional power in the comics, but is based on the X-Men storyline "The Twelve", where he attempted to transfer his consciousness into an all-powerful mutant to achieve godhood.
• Actors Josh Helman (William Stryker) and Nicholas Hoult (Hank McCoy/Beast) are enemies in this film. Helman and Hoult previously worked together on Mad Max: Fury Road as brief allies, before also turning into adversaries.