*Cast members Alexandra Shipp (Storm), James McAvoy (Professor Charles Xavier), Evan Peters (Quick Silver), Tye Sheridan (Cyclops), and Lana Condor (Jubilee) of “X-Men: Apocalypse” stopped by the Apple Store in New York recently to be interviewed and greet fans. Much attention has been swirling around new members, especially Alexandra Shipp, who plays Storm. She not only plays a big part in the “X-Men” series, but a part in the comics’ Black Panther storyline.
Admitting that Storm is a huge character in the comic books, Shipp said, “It is intimidating but also invigorating” to take on Storm. “We as actors in this film were really able to develop our characters. It was really cool being able to say this is how I want storm to look when she’s flying or this is how I want to summon the weather or the elements. It was really cool to be able to be a part of that creative process.”
On filling Halle Berry’s shoes, Shipp explained she “needed to know 100% the Halle Berry storm to be able to pay homage.” “For me,” she went on to say, “I wanted the fans to have that kind of feeling that I had when I was watching her in the movies, and watching the comics well, while staying really true to the comics but also trying to bring my own flavor to it which is really hard because it’s hard to relate to a mutant.”
McAvoy was also happy to take Professor X in another direction. “It’s a new challenge because he’s felt very much like three different people. I’ve been fortunate enough to portray parts of Charles I don’t think we’ve seen a lot of in the books or in the cartoon, or in the previous movies.
“And with this [one] I was excited to finally sort of show more of the icon and let our run of movies own that part of Charles. That sort of patriarchal wiser, slightly harder figure than he has been until now. I didn’t really want to do that in “First Class” and “Days of Future Past. That was fine because the script didn’t ask me to go there but it felt right [in this one]. Maybe because I’m a little bit older.”
As the Q&A session came to an end, the question poised was how would they like to see their characters in the future? “I would love to get involved with the kind of mind battle that you can only get involved in with another psychic character like Psylocke or Emma Frost, or any of those guys,” McAvoy offered. “That would be awesome.” Shipp wants Storm to be more empowered. “I want Storm to become the matriarch that she needs to be,” she concluded.
Syndicated Entertainment journalist Marie Moore reports on film and TV from her New York City base. Contact her at [email protected]
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