Licensing arrangements be damned, 2016 is a massive year for the X-Men universe. Not only do we have Tim Miller and Ryan Reynold’s dragging Deadpool onto the silver screen next month, but there’s also the small matter of Channing Tatum’s Gambit spinoff along with Bryan Singer’s all-encompassing X-Men: Apocalypse, which is due to lumber onto the scene in May of this year.
And so, to herald the upcoming one-two-three punch of Mutant goodness, Empire has assembled the leading cast members from each feature film for an epic shoot, and you can gaze longingly at the end result above.
The photo brings together the likes of T.J. Miller, a clean-shaven James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Oscar Isaac, X-Men stalwart Hugh Jackman, Channing Tatum sporting a brilliant t-shirt, Deadpool‘s Ed Skrein and Gina Carano, Jennifer Lawrence and of course, Ryan Reynolds ahead of his appearance as the Merc with a Mouth. Acting as part of the outlet’s coverage of Deadpool and his mutated pals, today’s image is surely the first of many exclusive tidbits relating to the X-Men universe that’ll be arriving via Empire over the coming days, so stay tuned for more.
Acting as the early bird of 2016, Deadpool will swagger into theaters on February 12 in North America, followed in quick succession by Bryan Singer’s X-Men: Apocalypse on May 27, 2016. Gambit, meanwhile, has been tentatively pegged for October 7, 2016, though given that Edge of Tomorrow director Doug Liman has only recently taken the reins, we’re anticipating that Channing Tatum’s turn as the elusive trickster will be nudged into 2017.
