X-Men: Apocalypse is in theaters now. The X-Men faced one of their biggest threats so far with the fate of the world on the line. During the course of the movie, we are introduced and re-introduced to several characters. You can read our spoiler-free review here.
As with most comic book films, there is a scene after the credits. It introduces a new element to the movie universe and is likely to lead into other X-Men-related movies. There will be some spoilers for X-Men: Apocalypse below.
While the X-Men had the threat of Apocalypse to worry about, there was another foe to deal with as well--William Stryker. Stryker has appeared in several X-Men films and has a long-running hatred for mutants. In the movie, he captures and transports several X-Men to the Weapon X facility. This is where Wolverine had Adamantium fused to his bones and was turned into a killing machine.
When Jean Grey, Cyclops, and Nightcrawler were trying to rescue the others, Wolverine was set free and killed most of the soldiers in the base. The end credits scene shows the facility is being cleaned up. Bodies are put in body bags and the blood is being mopped clean. A well-dressed man arrives and enters the room where Wolverine was kept. He takes a sample of Wolverine's blood and places it in a briefcase marked "Essex Corp." This left viewers wondering, "What is the Essex Corp?"
Essex is the last name of Mr. Sinister.
Mr. Sinister is a longtime foe of the X-Men in the comics. Born in the 1800s, Nathaniel Essex was a biologist in London. He had his group, the Marauders, awaken Apocalypse from one of his regeneration chambers. The two became allies and later enemies. It was Sinister's interest in experimenting on mutants that lead him to create a clone of Jean Grey. This clone and Cyclops would later give birth to the time-traveling mutant, Cable, who was destined to destroy Apocalypse.
It's likely that Cable will appear in the Deadpool sequel, but it's doubtful Mr. Sinister will have anything to do with that movie. What's more likely is Sinister's appearance could lead into the proposed Gambit movie with Channing Tatum.
Gambit went to Sinister when his mutant powers started becoming unstable. In return for his help, Sinister had Gambit carry out several tasks and missions for him. One task included leading the Marauders to the underground home of mutants so they could be wiped out.
A connection to Gambit could be likely, but because Wolverine's blood was taken, the scene is more likely leading into the cinematic introduction of X-23.
X-23 is a clone of Wolverine. She was created by a top-secret program in an attempt to recreate the Weapon X experiments. Part of the genetic sample was damaged so a female clone was created.
Despite Sinister's knack for dabbling in clones and mutants, he wasn't involved with the creation of X-23. For the sake of the more condensed movie universe, this change could easily be made in order to lead into the next Wolverine movie. This would fit in with an agent of Sinister's taking the sample of blood in the scene.
The end scene is more likely to lead into a spinoff film rather than the next X-Men sequel. Mr. Sinister's origin is likely to change since we've already seen the apparent demise of Apocalypse. Having him involved with the creation of X-23 and possibly a factor in the Gambit movie would make this a good set up. It should be noted that in the comics X-23 has taken up the mantle of Wolverine. This could also be the case in the movies when Hugh Jackman finishes playing the character on the big screen.
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