A few months ago, Channing Tatum confirmed he would be playing Gambit in an upcoming solo film, and now, former G4 host-turned-actress Olivia Munn has joined the cast of the upcoming ‘X-Men: Apocalypse’ film, signing on to play Betsy Braddock, aka Psylocke. Director Bryan Singer made the announcement Monday via his Instagram account: ‘Excited to welcome @oliviamunn as Betsy Braddock! #Psylocke #XmenApocalypse #XMEN.’
A longtime member of the X-Men in Marvel Comics continuity, Psylocke is the sister of British superhero Captain Britain. Born Elizabeth ‘Betsy’ Braddock, Psylocke is a powerful telepath whose mind is in the body of a Japanese assassin named Kwannon. Along with her considerable mental abilities, she’s able to focus her telepathic powers to create ‘psychic daggers’ to go along with her badass martial arts skills.
Psylocke made her first appearance in the comic books in 1976, but hasn’t had a large presence in the films. Her only movie appearance was a small part in 2006’s ‘X-Men: The Last Stand’, played by Mei Melançon.
X-Men: Apocalypse also stars James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Nicholas Hoult, Rose Byrne, Evan Peters, Bingbing Fan, and Oscar Isaac as Apocalypse. Ian McKellen and Patrick Stewart, who played Magneto and Professor X, respectively, will not be returning for the next instalment. ‘Apocalypse’ will be Jennifer Lawrence’s last appearance as Mystique, she recently confirmed.
Munn recently appeared with Johnny Depp in ‘Mortdecai’, as well as a regular role in the Aaron Sorkin series, ‘The Newsroom’. She’s currently filming ‘Ride Along 2’, starring Ice Cube and Kevin Hart, which will hit cinemas early next year.
Singer is directing the film from a script by Simon Kinberg, Dan Harris and Michael Dougherty.
X-Men: Apocalypse will hit cinemas 27 May 2016.
