'Dawn of the Planet of the Apes' Star Kodi-Smit McPhee Joins The Cast Of 'X-Men: Apocalypse' As Nightcrawler

I guess we can thank director Bryan Singer for keeping us from going through the nuisance of the whole "rumored shortlist of actors" process and just straight up telling us who he's casting in his upcoming film X-Men: Apocalypse. The director himself has revealed a new addition to the ever growing cast of mutants, following the recent announcement of who would be portraying the young Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm in the film just a few weeks ago. Following that major bit of casting news, it seemed like Singer's roster was finally complete. Or was it? While we hadn't even heard that a young Nightcrawler would be featured in the film, its now been made quite apparent by Singer himself that we can expect to see him show up, with young star Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes) set to take on the role.

The announcement from Singer does in fact come as a bit of a shock, especially since the cast for the film seemed to have already been completed. We've known for some time now that X-Men: Apocalypse would be following the team of mutants at some point in the 1980s, following the events in the 1970s timeline of last year's X-Men: Days of Future Past. Both Michael Fassbender and James McAvoy were givens to return as Magneto and Professor X, where as Jennifer Lawrence and Nicholas Hoult would also be returning as the younger counterparts of Mystique and Beast. The film will also include the newly cast Gambit (Played by Channing Tatum), and of course the return of Days of Future Past fan favorite Quicksilver (Evan Peters) in an expanded role. 

Having said that, unlike X-Men: First Class and Days of Future Past, Apocalypse will be featuring many more of the teams most well known members. Its been a long time coming that a young Cyclops, Jean, and Storm would be joining the already impressive cast of young X-Men that has been put together, so the additions of Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, and Alexandra Shipp is those respective roles were no-brainers. As for McPhee's Nightcrawler, who too is one of the most recognized characters in X-Men lore, who made a memorable appearance in X-Men: United where he was played by actor Alan Cumming. 

McPhee fits in just about the same age range as Sheridan, Turner, and Shipp, so it should be expected that Xavier recruited the mutants to join the team all around the same time. This more or less resembles the line-up of the original First Class comics, with Storm and Nightcrawler serving as stand ins for Angel and Iceman (Whose characters in the X-Men series are much to young to show up in the 1980s timeline). Having said that its still unknown how important Nightcrawler will actually be to the storyline, especially with the cast and roster of characters already being so full. We can only hope he serves a bigger role than Toad (Evan Jonigkeit) did in Days of Future Past. It also would be interesting to see if Singer choses to explore the idea of Mystique being Nightcrawler's mother like in the comics, although it seems highly unlikely with the McPhee and Lawrence's close proximity in age. 

So are you happy that will get to see the return of Nightcrawler in X-Men: Apocalypse? Do you think Kodi-Smit McPhee was the right choice for the role? Sound off below!

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Marvel And Sony Reach A Deal That Will See A New 'Spider-Man' Finally Join The Marvel Cinematic Universe

Yes, you read that headline right. After several leaked Sony emails revealed the many possibilities the studio was considering for the future of their Spider-Man series, it seems the studio has finally agreed on a scenario the feel is the most suitable. And the good news is, this time it isn't just a rumor, Marvel has announced that Spider-Man will officially be a part of their new cinematic universe. But of course it isn't as simple as that, as the deal will actually still see Sony retain the rights to the character and his upcoming solo films, yet this Spider-Man will be featured in future Marvel Studios films. For better or wore, this does in fact mean the end of The Amazing Spider-Man series, and the involvement of director Marc Webb and any of the cast; including lead actor Andrew Garfield. 

The news comes courtesy of Marvel themselves, who revealed that both company's have worked out a deal that will see the wallcrawler show up in future Marvel Studios' films, along with giving them some creative input into the future Spider-Man films (With Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige producing the films). This apparently means we'll be getting yet another completely new take on Spider-Man, with a new actor set to take up the mantle, a casting decision that has already gained some speculation. This indefinitely means that TASM lead star Andrew Garfield is out, after rumors suggested Sony did everything in their power to have him return, yet a fresh new take was ultimately what both studios felt was best. Director Marc Webb will also no longer be involved with the films, leaving a vacancy for an all new director to take the helm of the new reboot.

The new Spider-Man will apparently be making his first appearance in 2016's Captain America: Civil War, the highly anticipated sequel that will be adapting the famed comic book storyline. Spider-Man himself plays a key role in the comic book storyline, so it isn't too surprising that he'll be introduced in this film, although its unknown if he'll be playing a role equivalent to that of the comics. Back when the film was originally announced, Marvel made no mention of Spider-Man and instead announced the inclusion of famed comic book character Black Panther who will be played by Chadwick Boseman (42). It was initially believed that Black Panther would be filling in for Spider-Man's role in the film, serving as the hero caught between Iron Man and Captain America sides. Many fans are worried that Marvel's sudden accusation of Spidey will diminish Panther's role in the film, especially considering the fact that the latter's solo film was pushed back a year to make room for the new Spider-Man film in 2017.

As I stated above, the rumor mill is already a buzz over who will be playing our new Spider-Man. There's also been a lot of talk as to whether Marvel will chose to use Peter Parker or Miles Morales as the man behind the mask, but judging by the press release Parker seems the more likely. Variety has brought about some new detail regarding the approach Sony and Marvel are going for with the new Spidey, once again aiming for a high school aged version of the character, and having Midtown High School serve as a major location throughout the film. Two names that Variety mentions that both studios' are considering for the role are Teen Wolf and The Maze Runner star Dylan O'Brien, and Perks of Being a Wallflower and Fury's Logan Lerman. Both actors have been fan favorites for the part, and Lerman was coincidentally considered for the part back when casting commenced for The Amazing Spider-Man. There's sure to be many more names thrown around as we await an official announcement, so we'll keep you updated on those rumors throughout the coming months.

So how do you feel about Spider-Man finally showing up in the MCU? Are you sad or happy that The Amazing Spider-Man series is over? Who would you like to see play our new Spider-Man? Sound off below!

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