Oscar Isaac gets his Marvel comeback: 10 years after X-Men: Apocalypse

A decade after X-Men: Apocalypse arrived in 2016, Oscar Isaac’s Marvel redemption arc looks a lot clearer. His turn as Apocalypse in Fox’s film took plenty of heat at the time, but these days his superhero résumé is shaped far more by Moon Knight and Spider-Man 2099.

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X-Men: Apocalypse was supposed to deliver a huge event-level villain. Instead, the film landed with mixed-to-negative reviews from critics, and Apocalypse himself took hits from both reviewers and fans, who called the character underwritten, strangely scaled down, and visually unconvincing. A lot of people came away feeling like Isaac had been stuck in a role that wasted what he can do.

That reputation changed. In Moon Knight, Isaac drew much stronger praise from critics for the depth, vulnerability, and complexity he brought to both Marc Spector and Steven Grant. Then came Spider-Man 2099, where his intense, brooding voice work turned into one of the biggest strengths of the Spider-Verse movies. It also gave him a strange little Marvel distinction: he became the first actor to play major Marvel roles for Fox, Marvel Studios, and Sony.

And the reevaluation makes even more sense once you hear Isaac talk about Apocalypse itself. In April 2026, he said the experience was “excruciating” because of the 40-pound suit, the heavy latex, the glue, and the breaks spent in a cooling tent, which goes a long way toward explaining why the performance felt so constrained. Since then, X-Men ’97 has given Apocalypse a more nuanced take, and Isaac has also said that “interesting talks” about Midnight Sons are still happening. He’s open to coming back as Moon Knight too, as long as the story seriously deals with Marc Spector’s Dissociative Identity Disorder.

You can watch X-Men: Apocalypse, Moon Knight, and X-Men ’97 on Disney+, and Spider-Verse on digital platforms.

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