'X-Men Apocalypse' Release Date, Latest News: Tom Hardy to Play Doctor Strange?

The X-Men superheroes will face a new and more daunting challenge when they go up against a super villain in the upcoming Marvel movie "X-Men Apocalypse."

Not many details have emerged about the movie that is slated for release in May 2016, but fans are already excited about the upcoming film.

Reports from the grapevine claim that Tom Hardy, the villain in the "Dark Knight Rises," is being considered for the role of the villainous Doctor Strange in the film. Hardy was also reportedly offered a major role in Warner Bros' upcoming movie "Suicide Squad."

According to the Wrap, there are other contenders for the role of Doctor Strange including Colin Farrell, Benedict Cumbebatch and Keanu Reeves. A source told the Wrap that Marvel is very interested in working with Cumberbatch and that he is him on the list.

Meanwhile, Mystique (played by Jennifer Lawrence) will reportedly have plenty of scenes in the new X-Men movie that will again be directed by Bryan Singer.

Simon Kinberg, who is back co-write and co-produce the latest movie in the mega-successful franchise, revealed to Collider that "X-Men Apocalypse" will explore the relationship between Mystique and the Beast (Nicholas Hoult). Kinberg also said the movie will also focus on the influence that Charles Xavier (aka Professor X) and Erik Lehnsherr (Magneto) each have on Mystique and also the friendship between Charles and Erik.

"The relationship between Beast and Mystique is a really interesting one that we didn't have a lot of time to explore in 'Days of Future Past' so we'll have an opportunity to do more of that in 'Apocalypse,'" Kinberg said.

"Part of what's really interesting about Mystique's character is that she is, in some ways, the child of both Erik and Charles," he said. "She grew up with Charles and then she sort of became a woman with Erik, so her being the cross-pollination, if you will, of those two philosophies and those two men is something we can explore in the movie, too."

Meanwhile, Hoult recently shared his sentiments regarding his supposed "juicy scenes" with Lawrence, his ex, to MTV News.

"There were another couple of scenes which got cut, because they didn't work technically in terms of the geography of how the movie played out in the end," the 24-year-old actor said. "Why [Mystique and Beast] would be here — when the world is about to end — and then we've nipped home quickly to have a good night's sleep. Everyone was like, 'well, we can't really do that.' So there were a couple of extra scenes which got cut, unfortunately."

Meanwhile, "X-Men: Days of Future Past" will be released on Blu-ray and DVD on Oct. 14.