As the Days of Future Past follow-up X-Men: Apocalypse gears up to begin production this spring, director Bryan Singer is heating up his casting search.  We previously learned that Apocalypse will be introducing young versions of mutants Cyclops and Jean Grey, with Chloe Grace Moretz in the mix for the latter.  Now a shortlist of actors testing for both parts has surfaced, as well as a couple of actresses in the mix to play young Storm, as word comes that Moretz was forced to pass on the role of Jean Grey due to scheduling issues.  Find out who’s being looked at to play the new mutants after the jump.

The folks over at Latino Review have a rundown of the actors that are set to test for the roles of Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm.  Apparently Kingsman: The Secret Service star Taron Edgerton is in line to test for Cylclops, as is Jamie Blackley (If I Stay) and Mud breakout Tye Sheridan.  While Edgerton seems like a fine fit from what I’ve seen of Kingsman thus far, Jeff Sneider from The Wrap adds that Sheridan is currently the frontrunner to take on the role.  The actor showed considerable talent in both The Tree of Life and Mud, so this would certainly be a major get for the up-and-comer.

As for Jean Grey, Game of Thrones actress Sophie Turner (aka Sansa Stark) and the very talented Saoirse Ronan are apparently the contenders set to test following Moretz passing on the part.  Turner has certainly come into her own on Game of Thrones, but of the actors on that TV show I’m most interested in seeing young Maisie Williams get a big screen showcase of her talents.  As for Ronan, she’s proved herself time and time again to be a reliably versatile actress, showing off her action skills in the excellent Hanna.

And if Latino Review’s report is to be believed, we may be getting Storm in a mowhawk on the big screen, assuming Apocalypse will be drawn from the 80s versions of the characters that is.  Alexandra Shipp and Zendaya Coleman are the actresses set to test for that role, and though they're not exactly big names just yet, Shipp played Aaliyah in the TV movie Aaliyah: The Princess of R&B and will next be seen in Straight Outta Compton, while  Coleman has done quite a bit of work on television shows like Shake It Up and K.C. Undercover.

The report makes no mention of the actors and actresses that were previously reported to be contenders to play Cyclops and Jean Grey, which included Hailee Steinfeld and Elle Fanning, but one imagines this new shortlist is more up to date.

As filming is slated to begin in April, expect to hear much more about X-Men: Apocalypse soon.  As previously reported, Oscar Isaac is already set to play the titular villain.  The film opens in theaters on May 27, 2016.