It’s been a while since the heroes of X-Men: Days of Future Past saved humanity — and themselves — from threats within and without. Now, in X-Men: Apocalypse, things are — at least for people like Charles Xavier (James McAvoy) — a little more settled. Humanity is aware of the mutants living among them and relations have been, for the most part, peaceful.
But all that changes when the ancient, incredibly powerful mutant known as Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) awakens in the early 1980s and begins to destroy the world as we know it, convinced that he can create civilisation again the way he thinks it should be. 

With Bryan Singer once more directing, X-Men: Apocalypse promises a huge global adventure and another thrilling mission for the world’s favourite mutants. 

Jennifer Lawrence returns to the role of Raven aka Mystique, a troubled young woman still seeking her place in the world, and unconvinced by the idea that humans and mutants can coexist peacefully. When Apocalypse arrives, she sees that those like her will have to unite to fight the new menace, and takes on more of a leadership mantle. Lawrence, an Oscar-winning actress who is also one of the most popular movie stars in the world, has played Raven since 2011’s X-Men: First Class. Here, she talks about Raven learning to lead and enjoying a schedule that meant she spent fewer “blue days” in make-up.

Where do we find Raven in the new film?
She’s on her own. She’s going around the world saving mutants who are in danger. It’s 10 years after the end of Days of Future Past, and the world is outwardly more tolerant of mutants, but Raven knows there’s still fear and prejudice out there, so she’s kind of a one-person army protecting her kind. Raven always has a good character journey in her X-Men films. 

What did you need to figure out to play this one?
This movie is really about Raven becoming a leader. She was treated as a hero after what transpired at the end of Days Of Future Past (2014), but she didn’t want that mantle. She went underground. And in this movie, she accepts the leadership position, steps into the role that Charles (Xavier) usually occupies, and leads the young X-Men into the final battle.

You’ve made Raven your own. How much input do you give into character moments these days?
These movies are very collaborative. There’s a really open line of communication with Bryan Singer (director) and Simon Kinberg (writer), and they like working closely with the actors, so we try a lot of different things on set and talk about the big moments. 

I know I can go to Simon with any idea, and he’ll consider it, and fully play it out.

Apocalypse promises to have the biggest scale of the films to date. What was the biggest challenge?
It definitely has the biggest scale of any X-Men film. The biggest challenge was probably for Oscar (Isaac) in terms of getting in that costume every day. 
 
And does it still feel big to the cast, even when you’re shooting small chunks at a time?
A lot of it is done on green screen, but we did shoot a long stretch in the rubble where the final battle takes place. That felt like shooting on a real battleground covered in debris and destruction.

You and your co-stars always seem to have a lot of fun when they’re all on set. So what can you tell us about the downtime from this one?
We’re all very close at this point. For me, Michael (Fassbender, who plays Magneto), James (McAvoy), and Nick (Nicholas Hoult, who plays Beast and is also JLaw’s ex-boyfriend), it’s our third movie (First Class, Days of Future Past and now Apocalypse) over five or six years, so we’re all so comfortable with each other. On the last film, there were BB gun battles, but on this one, it was slightly tamer.

You can’t go into spoilers, but what was the most intense action moment or stunt you got to do on the new film?
One of the most intense was the final confrontation with Apocalypse. He gets a hold of Mystique and he’s strangling her, holding her off the ground.

Any bumps or bruises this time? And is the make-up any easier?
There are always a few bumps and bruises. The make-up was faster this time. They’ve been perfecting the process since the first film (X-Men, 2000) making it faster and more painless each time. And the script had more Raven than Mystique, so the number of blue days weren’t as bad. 

The previous film (X-Men: Days of Future Past) gave you lots of ’70s clothes to wear. How was it switching to the 1980s this time?
It was cool! I start in a very ‘Berlin’ music video-style pop outfit, then I quickly transition to a more Joan Jett rebel look, which is what I wear for most of the film until we suit up for the end.

You talked on Days of Future Past about your excitement to be working with Peter Dinklage, thanks to your love for Game of Thrones. Did you geek out over Sophie Turner joining the team?
Yes! She’s (Sophie plays Sansa Stark in Game of Thrones) so great on that show, and I was excited to work with another actress. 

How was it working again with Bryan Singer as director? Do you have a rapport now?
I definitely know what to expect from Bryan and love working with him. We have an easy rapport and he keeps the set lively and fun. 

Is there something you’re excited for people to see this time around?
I’m really excited for people to see a fuller realisation of the X-Men — Charles, Hank, Peter, but also Jean and Scott. This movie is like the origin of the first official X-Men, and that’s an epic story to tell on film.

Who should play Raven/Mystique after JLaw? 
Tell t2@abp.in

 

OOPS SHE DID IT... AGAIN!
Jennifer Lawrence and red carpets aren’t the best of friends. After that famous tumble as she walked up to the Oscar stage to collect her Best Actress statuette in 2013, JLaw has had quite a few falls in public. The most recent was at the London premiere of X-Men: Apocalypse on May 9 where the 25-year-old tripped on her white silver body-hugging Dior gown and would have landed face down if a vigilant usher hadn’t caught her on time. With every such trip, the t2 girl gang trips even more on her! #JustLikeUs