'X-Men: Apocalypse' Director Reveals What Makes The Villain The Biggest Threat Yet

The “X-Men” franchise is gearing up to introduce its greatest villain yet in the upcoming film “X-Men: Apocalypse.” The character promises to affect the heroes on a fundamental level, and now the film’s director is sharing some details about what exactly Apocalypse (Oscar Isaac) will be able to do when he first appears on screen.

In the comic books, Apocalypse’s abilities are supposed to be vague but very powerful. Each time the X-Men encounter him, they’re basically playing Russian roulette with his library of superpowers. The blue-skinned character is known as En Sabah Nur, which translates to “The First Mutant.” He’s lived for generations and spends most of his spare time recruiting powerful people to help him ruin the world. He continues to pop up throughout history to try and either bring his version of order to humanity or destroy it in the process.

As CinemaBlend notes, the figure is treated as a bit of a regal emperor by his followers. It’s been revealed in the first official trailer for the film that he enlists the help of iron-willed and highly intelligent mutants like Magneto (Michael Fassbender). Although his powers are mysterious, director Bryan Singer revealed an element to the villain that may explain how he recruits new followers.

“He has a number of different powers that he’s acquired over the years as he’s moved from body to body, accumulating these various abilities. One of them is to imbue other mutants and to heighten their powers and abilities beyond anything they ever imagined,” Singer recently told JoBlo. “He can amplify your power, transform you as a mutant but his ability to physically damage, destroy or build is in the non-biological world.”

For many of the characters in the “X-Men” franchise so far, the main goal has been an expansion of their powers, whether it’s in the political spectrum or simply enhancing their mutant abilities. With the movie version of Apocalypse apparently able to enhance his favorite mutant’s powers at will, it seems like it won’t be hard for him to manipulate people into doing his bidding, even traditionally good characters like Storm (Alexandra Shipp).

While Apocalypse’s powers are certainly going to be a difficult obstacle for the “X-Men” to defeat, the character isn’t without his weaknesses. Despite several attempts to conquer the world throughout history, the villain has repeatedly failed. Speaking to ScreenRant during a set visit in July, the director revealed that Apocalypse has never found himself in the modern technological era, meaning the lessons that he learned taking on ancient civilizations may not help him as much as he’d hoped. As a result, his attempts to convince people that he’s a god may not be as effective, even with his stunning mutant powers helping him. However, Singer admits that didn’t stop him from crafting the character as one of the almighty.

“The way I describe him the best is he, to me, is the God of the Old Testament and all that comes with that. If there isn’t the order and the worship then I’ll open up the Earth and swallow you whole,” he told the outlet. “And that was the God of the Old Testament.”

“X-Men: Apocalypse” hits theaters on May 27, 2016 where “Star Wars: The Force Awakens” star Oscar Isaac will play the title role and take on a version of the superteam from 1983. What are you most excited to see in the new “X-Men” film? Comment below or tweet your thoughts to @TylerMcCarthy.