Ben Hardy has officially been confirmed to play Angel in X-Men: Apocalypse.

There had been rumours that the former EastEnders star would be taking on the role in the third instalment of the new trilogy, which director Bryan Singer has finally admitted.

“Ben Hardy is Angel – I shall confirm it for you!” he told Empire, teasing: “But he’s not a very nice Angel! And that’s all I’ll say…”

The first look concept art shows Angel in two guises – with wings furled and then unfurled, sparking speculation that the character could meet Archangel in the upcoming movie.

The initial concept art of Ben Hardy's character Angel (20th Century Fox)
The initial concept art of Ben Hardy’s character Angel (20th Century Fox)

In the X-Men comics, Warren Worthington III was transformed from the blond, blue-eyed Angel into Archangel, who has knives for wings so he can serve villain Apocalypse (played by Oscar Isaac) and be one of his four artificially augmented servants, known as Horsemen.

Earlier art appeared to show Angel with feathered wings.

Bryan will return to direct X-Men: Apocalypse, with James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Jennifer Lawrence reprising their roles as Professor X, Magneto and Mystique respectively.

X-Men stars James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender
James McAvoy and Michael Fassbender (Jon Furniss/Invision/AP)

Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp and Kodi Smit-McPhee are amongst the newcomers to the cast.

X-Men: Apocalypse, which has started production in Montreal, Canada, is scheduled for release in May 2016.