Oscar Isaac to play lead villain in 'X-Men: Apocalypse'

Oscar Isaac is set for another violent year — this time in 2016. The 35-year-old actor will play the titular world-ending villain in "X-Men: Apocalypse," Fox's upcoming installment of the blockbuster franchise based on the Marvel Comics books.

Set for release May 27, 2016, and to be directed by "X"-veteran Bryan Singer, the film will pit the X-Men against perhaps their most menacing foe yet in Apocalypse (Isaac), an ancient, gray-skinned mutant with near-limitless powers who was teased in a post-credits scene of "X-Men: Days of Future Past."

That film, along with the Matthew Vaughn-directed 2011 prequel "X-Men: First Class," helped reinvigorate the flagging "X-Men" franchise and brought in some new blood in the form of Michael Fassbender, Jennifer Lawrence and James McAvoy. Isaac follows in their footsteps. He's an acclaimed actor from character-driven pieces -- he garnered big plaudits for his turn as a scruffy musician in "Inside Llewyn Davis" and has plenty of buzz going for his lead role as an embattled Latino businessman in the upcoming "A Most Violent Year" -- now dipping into the tentpole world.

In addition to "X-Men," Isaac has a part in J.J. Abrams' "Star Wars: The Force Awakens," creating a notable juxtaposition of intimate and sweeping. (Isaac has been a protean performer generally, playing various ethnicities in his movies -- Russian gangster and British monarch, for instance, in "Drive" and "Robin Hood.")