Comic-book fans are in for a terrific year. X-Men: Days of Future Past, due to hit in May, is unquestionably one of the most risky superhero adventures ever made, as well as one that commits to a twisty, much-loved arc from the original comics. In addition to that star-studded blockbuster, comic-book aficionados are also patiently biding their time until Captain America: The Winter Soldier, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Amazing Spider-Man 2 and Sin City: A Dame to Kill For. But, for now, let’s go back to that first flick, undoubtedly the one with the highest chance of breaking box-office records.
Though we still have several months to go until we can find out whether director Bryan Singer’s sequel will be a spectacular achievement or an epic failure (with a film of this size, there’s really no middle ground), Empire has been featuring Days of Future Past heavily in recent weeks. After running a ridiculous 25 covers featuring characters from the film, the magazine just revealed some exclusive shots from the movie, all of which you can check out below.
The images don’t spoil much, though they do serve to remind us just how many characters are getting packed into Days of Future Past. We’ve got a young Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) wielding a gun, the indomitable Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) sporting the bone claws he ended up with at the end of The Wolverine, the older version of Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto (Ian McKellen) floating around, and a bunch of other X-Men just standing around. In that last group shot, from left to right, are the mutants Sunspot (Adan Canto), Kitty Pryde (Ellen Page), Iceman (Shawn Ashmore) and Colossus (Daniel Cudmore).
In case you’ve forgotten the stakes in Days of Future Past, the film will bring the original trilogy’s cast into contact with the X-Men: First Class crew as Wolverine is sent back in time to prevent a future in which anti-mutant robots called Sentinels have utterly decimated human civilization. Almost every cast member from the series thus far will reprise their role, though Anna Paquin’s Rogue was recently cut by Singer, who cited difficulties with length.
What do you think of the new images? Will X-Men: Days of Future Past set a new high for comic-book adaptations or turn out to be a total trainwreck? Sound off in the comments section!
X-Men: Days of Future Past arrives on May 24.
