'X-men: Apocalypse' Casts Its Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm

The mutants of X-men: Apocalypse are getting younger, and now we know who will be playing three of the most iconic members of Charles Xavier's team. A few weeks ago a shortlist emerged of contenders to play young versions of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm, and Bryan Singer hit Twitter to reveal who won out...

"Meet our new and brilliant young mutants: @AlexShipppp as#Storm @SophieT as #JeanGrey and @TyeSheridan as #Cyclops.
#XmenApocalypse"

Tye Sheridan is taking over the role of Scott Summers aka Cyclops, previously played by James Marsden; Alexandra Shipp replaces Halle Berry as Storm, and Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner is Jean Grey, who eventually becomes the all-powerful Phoenix. The film will center on the X-men: First Class era mutants and take place in the '80s, with the relationship between Magneto (Michael Fassbender) and Mystique (Jennifer Lawrence) the focus. Of course Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) will be involved, and it's expected that Channing Tatum will appear as Gambit.

X-men: Apocalypse opens May 27th 2016.

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Tye Sheridan, Saoirse Ronan, and Taron Egerton Eyed for 'X-Men: Apocalypse'

Get ready X-men fans because there's going to be plenty of Marvel's merry mutants on the big screen over the next couple of years. The centerpiece of the rapid franchise expansion, which includes Gambit and Deadpool solo movies, is of course 2016's X-men: Apocalypse. With the continuity basically getting a jumpstart and younger versions of established characters being introduced, some pretty big names are in the mix for three of the core X-men.

A couple of months ago a rumor surfaced that Hailee Steinfeld, Chloe Moretz, and Elle Fanning were in the mix for the role of young Jean Grey, but now Latino Review has rounded up a new list of contenders. Saoirse Ronan and Game of Thrones' Sophie Turner are said to actually be testing for it, and you don't go looking for stars of their caliber unless the roles are going to be big for a long time.  As for Jean's eventual lover Scott "Cyclops" Summers, it's Taron Egerton (Kingsman: The Secret Service), Jamie Blackley (If I Stay), and Tye Sheridan (The Tree of Life) in the mix with Sheridan the frontrunner according to The Wrap's Jeff Sneider.

And who is looking to replace Halle Berry as the weather goddess, Storm? Lesser known names like Alexandra Shipp and Zendaya Coleman are apparently being considered. Shipp recently took some heat for her performance as R&B star Aaliyah in the Lifetime Channel biopic, while Coleman is a Disney Channel starlet best known for the teen comedy, Shake It Up.

As much as I'm a fan of Ronan, it's Turner who seems like a better fit for Jean Grey. Remember, Ronan was also rumored for Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron and that never worked out. Sheridan is the most established actor of the male group and would be a safe pick for Cyclops, but Edgerton might could be the more exciting choice especially if Kingsman performs well. With Bryan Singer hoping to get production going in April we should learn something soon. X-men: Apocalypse opens May 27th 2016.

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