Ben Hardy, who is known for his role as Peter Beale in the British TV program "EastEnders," has been confirmed to play the role of a winged mutant called Angel in the upcoming movie "X-Men: Apocalypse." This new information came from the movie's director Bryan Singer.
"Ben Hardy is Angel - I shall confirm it for you!...But he's not a very nice Angel! And that's all I'll say," Singer reportedly told Empire in an exclusive phone interview. This news finally puts an end to earlier speculations that the actor would get "another important role that is being kept under wraps."
Cinema Blend also noted that Hardy was earlier part of the shortlist for the actors being considered for the part of Cyclops or Scott Summers but was apparently not chosen for the role.
The news outlet even provided two concept arts for Angel. Check them out here and here. Empire theorized that Hardy might actually be Archangel.
"[A]pocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac) is a super-powerful mutant supported by the Horsemen, four artificially augmented mutants whose duty it is to do their master's bidding. Perhaps the most famous Horseman of them all is Warren Worthington III, who was transformed from the blond, blue-eyed Angel into Death, aka the blue-skinned Archangel, complete with knives for wings...So, does this fate lie in store for Ben Hardy's Angel?," to quote the report.
Hardy joins a cast composed of James McAvoy who plays the role of Professor X, Michael Fassbender as Magneto, Jennifer Lawrence as Mystique, Nicholas Hoult as Beast, and Rose Byrne as Moira MacTaggert.
The list also includes newcomers and young actors including "American Horror Story" star Evan Peters as Quicksilver, "Game of Thrones" actress Sophie Turner as Jean Grey, "Tree of Life" actor Tye Sheridan as Scott Summers or Cyclops, Alexandra Shipp as Ororo Munroe or Storm, "Dawn of the Planet of the Apes" actor Kodi Smit-McPhee as Kurt Wagner or Nightcrawler, and Landa Condor as Jubilation Lee or Jubilee.
The upcoming movie "X-Men: Apocalypse" is expected to be set in the 1980s. If you must remember, previous movie installment "X-Men: Days of Future Past" was set in 1970s while the other one "X-Men: First Class" was set in 1960s. Watch out for "X-Men: Apocalypse" to hit theaters in May next year.