Bryan Singer has certainly been using the Twitter machine correctly, posting regular updates on the progress of X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST with fun teases, sneak peaks, and official cast confirmations. Today, the director posted an image of the cast with their collective award credentials with a follow on note, saying, “Now, let’s blow shit up!” The picture confirms three castmembers we hadn’t known about before, including the return of the metallic mutant known as Collossus, who will once again be played by Daniel Cudmore according to this line up. The other two additions are Boo Boo Stewart and Fan Bingbing (no, I did not make up these names), who is confirmed to be playing a mutant known as Blink.
Here’s the pic:
L-R: Hugh Jackman (Wolverine), Jennifer Lawrence (Mystique), James McAvoy (Charles Xavier), Michael Fassbender (Erik Lensherr), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Nicholas Hoult (Beast), Peter Dinklage (Unknown Villain), Halle Berry (Storm), Ellen Page (Shadowcat), Shawn Ashmore (Bobby Drake), Omar Sy (unknown), Anna Paquin (Rogue), Daniel Cudmore (Colossus), Fan Bingbing (Blink), Booboo Stewart (unknown).
We’re all still waiting to hear if Singer can lock down the firey couple of Cyclops, played originally by James Marsden and Jean Grey, played by Famke Janssen, which would really round this bad boy out. The longshots it seems (and not, THE Longshot, mind you) are Taylor Kitsch as Gambit and Kelsey Grammer as present-day Beast. Alan Cumming is all but confirmed to not be returning as Nightcrawler, so that doesn’t leave many unaccounted for unless we want to really get in the weeds.
Either way, Singer is assembling an army of talent to fill out this film, which gives me the feeling that he’s really going for it. The fears of having too many mutants all at once is valid, but if you look at the comics it’s always been an ensemble effort. X-MEN: THE LAST STAND aside, I think they’ve done a fine job of balancing it out. I’m optimistic.
X-MEN: DAYS OF FUTURE PAST wages war on July 18, 2014.