X-Men: Days of Future Past ended with Mystique - disguised as William Stryker - taking Wolverine to what seemed to be safety, but it was something of an open ending which has left us guessing for the past two years. We don't know if he now has his Adamantium claws in the new timeline (set to be further explored in his solo movie in 2017) or how and when he crosses paths with the X-Men again, but the latest issue of Empire confirms that Weapon X is going to factor into X-Men: Apocalypse.
In a sequence revolving around Mystique, Beast, Quicksilver, and Moira MacTaggert, the magazine describes the scene as follows: "The quartet have been kidnapped by army twonk William Stryker following a cataclysmic event at the X-Mansion, and wake up in a holding cell. On a balcony above them, Stryker taunts his prisoners, demanding to know the whereabouts of Magneto." That's pretty intriguing then, and when director Bryan Singer was asked how Wolverine factors into all of this, he replied: "As a central character, he didn't fit into this particular story." It's interesting that he refers to him as not being a "central character," especially as the fact that he doesn't seem to dismiss an appearance completely surely leaves the door open to some sort of cameo appearance.
Talk then turned to the future of the franchise, and with Singer setting his sights on 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea, he's moving on from the X-Men for the time being. "Abondoning the franchise is not something I think about. But I could not roll into another X-Men movie tomorrow. And I hope not to. I hope to take a break." If and when he does return though, where do you go after Apocalypse? Mr. Sinister? Onslaught? "I'd love to use Proteus somehow," the filmmaker teased. "There's a lot visually you could do with a character like that." An unexpected choice, but one with potential...