7.5 things you should know about the ''X-Men'' sequel -- EW tells you what to expect from ''X2'''s plot, characters, and action scenes
Something old, something new, something bladed, something blue: Look for all of these and more in ''X2,'' the latest installment of director Bryan Singer's comic-book saga of social oppression, minority pride, and battle-applicable birth defects (opening May 2). And things have gotten considerably darker: ''It's kind of a trial by fire for Mutant High,'' says Singer. ''Literally, in certain scenes.'' Below, what every good citizen -- mutant or norm -- should know about the impending fray. Consider this your spoiler alert and warning: Even as you read these words, Fox executives are looking at an initial print of the film -- thus, everything you read could undergo serious mutations before the premiere.
1. SUPERHERO BRIEFS
The X-Mansion (an inviolate haven in ''X1'') is besieged by a military force under the command of mutant-exploiting Gen. William Stryker (Brian Cox), the guy who customized Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) with that nifty adamantium endoskeleton. The melee conveniently allows Professor Xavier's (Patrick Stewart) mutant students to let off a little steam: Glass-shattering Banshee, Kitty ''Shadowcat'' Pryde (who walks through walls and, if necessary, people), and Colossus (whose metal musculature becomes visible when he manifests his power) all get to strut their stuff. But Wolverine racks up the highest body count when he gives the invaders claws for alarm.
2. WHO'S MISSING IN ACTION
The gang's not all here, of course. (The ''X'' universe is immense, and this isn't a 12-hour miniseries.) Beloved, blue-furred Beast appeared in early scripts, but ultimately proved one blue mutant too many. With protean Mystique (Rebecca Romijn-Stamos) and teleporting Nightcrawler (Alan Cumming) already needing four to five hours of makeup application and expensive computer assistance, the filmmakers decided a third visually complex character was just too extravagant. Similar concerns doomed Angel, a character with a 15-to-20-foot wingspan. But sharp-eyed fans may get a glimpse of plasma-zapping Jubilee and the card-carrying incendiary, Gambit.
3. RE: THE ENDANGERED ROOM
Another casualty of war (and budget): the Danger Room. When ''X1'' debuted, fans waited in vain for a glimpse of the comic's mutant training facility -- and the wait continues. Much of the set was completed when the team decided the effects would be too expensive. Understandable: As conceived by Singer & Co., the DR was to be an enormous cylinder -- control room on one side, scoreboard on the other -- bristling with all manner of weaponry and constantly rotating to throw off telepaths.
4. NO ONE IS SAFE -- NOT EVEN THE PRESIDENT
In his first movie, Singer dared to make the Holocaust a central motivator for one of his villains. In the sequel, he depicts a sympathetic character -- disgruntled circus performer Nightcrawler -- mounting a terrifying assault on the Oval Office (which was reconstructed based on photos from the official website -- the Bush administration refused to help out).
5. HALLE'S HAIRY PROBLEM
Weather witches tend to be a little temperamental about their hairdos. ''Halle [Berry] was pretty vocal in her thoughts about Storm,'' says producer Lauren Shuler Donner. ''We had discussed it being short. But Halle rightly said, 'You've got to have some hair flying around.' The problem is, it's a white wig. We've tried to make it as soft and real as possible -- without making her look like a senior citizen.
6. BETTER X-CESSORIES
''I always hated Cyclops' goggles,'' admits production designer Guy Dyas. ''They looked like Princess Leia, with those huge things on the side.'' Dyas, who previously designed Discmans for Sony, redesigned the visor with an eye to fashion. ''He could almost go out into the world with these and get away with it.'' Dyas also sexed up the X-Jet, making it longer and sleeker. ''The X-Jet on the first film was basically a window and four seats. It was a two-second beat. On this film, we've got eight pages in the X-Jet. So we had to build something a lot more intense.
7. GROWING UP MUTANT IS TOUGH
If you think it's fun telling your parents you don't want to go to medical school, try coming out as a Homo superior. ''We've got a fun scene where Bobby Drake, Iceman, goes home to see his parents, and they find out he's a mutant,'' says Singer. Things also heat up for disaffected youngster Pyro (Aaron Stanford), who conducts fire like a maestro -- an angry, cop-maiming maestro.
7.5 PATRICK STEWART...remains bald.