X-Men Apocalypse: Storm, Cyclops, and Jean Grey Cast

Read on to find out who will be playing the iconic characters.

Story by David Clark

The X-Men movie franchise is back and some fresh faces have been thrown into the mix. Coming up on the 8th major X-Men film release it seems the time is right to make old things new again for an eager audience.

There are a few familiar names returning this time. The roles once filled by Patrick Stewart (Xavier) and Ian McKellen (Magneto) are now being played by their younger on screen counterparts James McKavoy and Erik Lensherr. In fact, recent rumors speculate that long standing stalwarts Patrick Stewart and McKellen may not be appearing in the film at all. The trend in the franchise of moving the series to a younger generation of actors continues with the latest casting decisions.

First on the list of recent franchise acquisitions is that of the actress to play young Jean Grey. Those who are fans of the series and comics will remember that Jean Grey is the conflicted and volatile Phoenix. The Phoenix is a character of unfathomable power that, in the Marvel X-Men universe, has the potential to shift the balance of power between good and evil. Selected to play the role of Jean Grey is Sophie Turner. Turner has spent the last few years playing Sansa Stark on the hit HBO series Game of Thrones. Sophie has a bit of experience playing conflicted yet stubbornly strong female roles given her time on Game of Thrones; it will indeed be interesting to see how she translates that experience into her new role.

Second on the list of new faces is that of Alexandra Shipp. Though she recently played the late Aaliyah in the straight-to-television movie called Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B, a movie that was almost universally panned, Shipp might be just the infusion of attitude needed to truly portray the emotionally chaotic Storm. Storm, in X-Men lore, is a mutant with an almost unknown level of potential. In the comics and cartoon series Storm would often be a glass-cannon. She could unleash unmatched levels of destruction through her control of the weather but it would not take much to incapacitate her. Though most would probably agree that Halle Berry has done an admirable job portraying Storm it always felt like she was a little to calm and controlled for the character. Hopefully Shipp can bring a new edge to the younger version of Storm.

Last on the list, but far from the least, is Tye Sheridan. Playing the ever-jealous yet always courageous field leader of the X-Men, Sheridan will be Cyclops. From a cartoon and comic book series view, the selection of such a young actor probably means we will be viewing an equally young Cyclops. If that is the case he will certainly not yet be the stoic leader with which fans of the series are familiar. This may in fact be somewhat of an origin story with insights into how the young Scott Summers learned to control his powers and earned the name Cyclops.

With all of the talk regarding the billion dollar Avengers franchise it is good to see news continue to trickle in regarding the other Marvel universe. Even though the franchise is coming up on the 8th film, the X-Men series is still finding fresh ways to be new and interesting.

Sources: Vox