X-MEN: APOCALYPSE cast and crew talk characters and plot.

The next issue of Entertainment Weekly features X-MEN: APOCALYPSE director Bryan Singer, writer/producer Simon Kinberg and cast talking about their upcoming epic blockbuster.

Osacar Isaac on the villainous En Sabah Nur.

“He’s believed to be the first mutant, whatever that means. He is the ­creative-slash-destructive force of this earth. When things start to go awry, or when things seem like they’re not moving towards evolution, he destroys those civilizations.”

Writer, Simon Kinberg on making a “bigger” film.

“The problem with Days of Future Past is it’s hard to sequelize. Whenever we talked about the sequel, the challenge was that it needed to feel not necessarily bigger visually, but that the stakes needed to feel bigger.”

Director, Bryan Singer on reintroducing familiar characters.

“This is kind of the introduction to them. At the same time, it has concluding aspects of those previous stories.”

Apocalypse recruiting his four horsemen.

“It’s a chaotic world of conflict and war and destruction. It’s one giant civilization that now requires one giant culling. That’s why he needs ­special assistants in this process.” He finds teenage Storm living on the streets in Cairo, Angel (Ben Hardy) duking it out in a fight club in Berlin, and Psylocke (Olivia Munn) working behind the Iron Curtain for the mutant-broker Caliban. But his big get is Erik, who has been attempting to live a “normal” life in Poland. “He’s fallen in love and he’s basically left his metal ways behind,” Fassbender says. Pretty quickly, though, his world is shattered and “normal” is no longer an option. Says Fassbender, “Apocalypse finds Erik at a low and recruits him.”

Jennifer Lawrence on Mystique’s role.

“She hears about what happened to Erik and she wants to seek him out and help him.”

James McAvoy on Professor X’s school for gifted mutants.

“He’s not teaching anybody how to fight at the moment,” McAvoy says. “He’s teaching people how to control their abilities so that they can work at a bank. But of course this movie challenges all of that.”