Director Bryan Singer compares X-Men: Apocalypse to Game of Thrones

Sophie Turner, who rose to fame playing Sansa Stark on Game of Thrones, is finally breaking out into a new franchise with her upcoming turn as a young Jean Grey in the rebooted X-Men series. X-Men: Apocalypse is the third theatrical installment of the the franchise with these actors in the main roles. Set in the mid to late 1980s, it’s been hyped as darker and heavier than the preceding films. According to director Bryan Singer, that’s partly because he’s been inspired by Game of Thrones’ story trajectory.

In a new interview with Yahoo Movies UK, Singer reveals that the upcoming movie has more than just Turner in common with the hit HBO series.

I’m a huge ‘Game Of Thrones’ fan. There’s a crossover between ‘X-Men’ and ‘Game Of Thrones’, they’re both about a younger generation finding their powers, finding out who they are, and what their place in the world is. I like how the show’s about different groups of people moving towards a common goal. They don’t even know if that’s the right goal, who wants to sit on that uncomfortable throne? I don’t! Everyone in King’s Landing is miserable. But for some reason they want that power.

It should be noted that Turner isn’t the first casting crossover from Thrones to X-Men. The last installment of the franchise, X-Men: Days of Future Past, featured Peter Dinklage as antagonist Dr. Bolivar Trask. So it seems that Singer is serious about being a fan of the show, since he’s casting from it.

The interview also promises a higher death count than in previous installments, which puts it in line with the famously bloody Game of Thrones. As for whether the movie will incorporate some of the show’s other hallmarks, such as nudity, violence, and the “sexposition” scenes of the early seasons, we’ll have to wait for X-Men: Apocalypse to hit the theaters in May to find out.

Check out the official trailer for the movie below. Turner crops up at the beginning, waking up from a nightmare and showing off her American accent.