Many of the X-Men movies are not good, and in contention for the bottom rung is 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse. Oscar Isaac, who plays the all-powerful mutant in the maligned action movie, actually doesn’t resent the whole affair, though his feelings are mixed.
“I don’t disown it. I know exactly what I went in there wanting to do and the reasons why. There were these amazing actors involved that I really wanted to work with, [James] McAvoy and [Michael] Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence,” Isaac told the New York Times on making X-Men: Apocalypse. He explains that Apocalypse fascinated him in the comics, making it a role he coveted, but the reality did not meet expectations.
“You get there, and you’re like, ‘Oh my God, I’ve got all these prosthetics on. I’ve got a suit on. I can’t move. I can’t see anybody. All these actors I wanted to work with – I can’t even see who they are’,” he says. “I still think back to that time with fondness. I wish it would have been a better film and that they would have taken care of the character a little better, but those are the risks.”
X-Men: Apocalypse is most certainly not known for how well it depicted the eponymous antagonist. A legendary X-Men character in the comics, Apocalypse is one of the first mutants ever born, gifted with immortality and a wide selection of other powers.
He’s an existential threat to Professor Xavier’s students, and mankind as whole, fancying himself a deity to be worshipped by those around him. Meanwhile, for the film adaptation, he’s closer to Ivan Ooze from Power Rangers: The Movie, with as much gravitas as you’d imagine Oscar Isaac caked in prosthetics to have (not much).
Alas, the experience didn’t totally sour Isaac’s interest in comic book adaptations, since he’s now in Moon Knight on Disney Plus. That leaves the role open in the MCU – whoever takes over, they have a low bar to cross.