We’ve debated this rumor for a while here at Unleash The Fanboy, but now that SDCC has arrived, we’ve finally nabbed a quality source on the subject.

Apocalypse, that massive blue and gray genocidal baddie of mutant fame, will play a huge role in Fox’s expanded X-Men universe according to our source at the studio. We had a chance to speak with her before the craziness of SDCC gets into full swing this weekend.

This is what she said:

“He’s definitely a big part of Fox’s whole plan for a big X-Men universe with spin-off movies. The Avengers really is the template here”

I think the X-Men characters have a far richer, varied history than the core Avengers team, so they’re for damn sure perfect for an expanded universe of movies. Although, their origins have been muddled in previous flicks. Can we even count the innumerable quality characters that have been butchered with careless writing or tolken, 2-minute roles? Juggernaut, Sabretooth, Emma Frost; the list goes on and on.

But back to the story… When I asked if Apocalypse would show up in the next X-Men movie, DAYS OF FUTURE PAST, she responded:

“I won’t say too much about that. You’ll just have to wait and see”

I’m gonna take that statement as a big fat “YES! Apocalypse will be in DOFP!“. I know that’s a bit presumptuous, but a few months ago Bryan Singer accidentally revealed as much in an interview with Bleeding Cool. One of that site’s journalists asked the X-Men director if Apocalypse would appear in any future films, and Singer’s face immediately transformed into an “Oh shit! How did they know?” grimace. Here’s the quote from that March interview:

On hearing the name Apocalypse, Singer’s face changed immediately but there was no point being timid. Might as well plough ahead with the question. Would he even consider using Apocalypse in the movies? How about in Days of Future Past? His nervous answer: I can’t tell you… That was most interesting. So I leapt forward and asked if realizing the character of Apocalypse would require performance capture. And now Singer looked even more nervous. This is how it gets started, when somebody starts piecing the little bits together… The non-verbal communication was even more compelling than what Singer was saying. If I had to bet on it, I would – we’ll be seeing Apocalypse in Days of Future Past, and he’s probably going to be a performance capture character.

As I’ve said before, I believe Apocalypse will serve as the Thanos of this new X-Men universe. Like that Avengers nemesis, ol’ Apoca will be the evil force behind the scenes, while a few lesser foes go out and openly confront Wolverine, Professor X, Magneto, and the rest of the allied mutants.

And if I were a betting man (and I am, on Wednesday nights from 8-10 at El Guadalupe’s Russian Mine Fights), I’d put my money on the DOFP sequel being named AGE OF APOCALYPSE.

Let that marinate, fanboys and fangirls!