One things which came across both at Comic-Con and in Entertainment Weekly's feature is that X-Men: Apocalypse is all about the birth of the X-Men. It's taken long enough (this is the third instalment of a prequel trilogy which turned into an alternate timeline one), but with many of the actor's contracts coming to an end, the arrival of a new cast signals a new direction for the franchise. Fox will no doubt do all they can to bring back names like Fassbender, Lawrence, and McAvoy, but with a plethora of new mutants to build stories around, they don't necessarily need them. This turning point for the X-Men series is something Singer acknowledges, as he confirms that this movie serves as something of a pivot for the spotlight to shift to a new generation of heroes. "This is kind of the introduction to them, he adds. "At the same time, it has concluding aspects of those previous stories." Whatever follows X-Men: Apocalypse is obviously going to be something different then, and rumours point to Singer handing the X-Men franchise to someone else while he directs Fantastic Four and then brings in his mutants for a crossover between the two franchises. That all hinges on the success of the first instalment of course, and for now, it's clear that the world of the X-Men is going to be shaken up in a significant way.
