Alan Cumming is back for “Avengers: Doomsday,” revising his role as the blue-skinned, sword-wielding, teleporting Nightcrawler. While Cumming famously didn’t love his time on “X2” (the character did not return for “X-Men: The Last Stand,” the actor said his second turn in the pointy ears was a healing experience.
“I just came back. It was amazing. It was actually really … in a sort of ooey, gooey way, it was really healing and really nice to go back to something that was a terrible experience when I did it the first time,” Cumming said during a panel for “The Traitors” at a Televerse conference last Thursday. “A great film, great film. I love the film.”
Cumming’s first — and only — appearance as mutant Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, came in Bryan Singer’s follow-up to 2000’s “X-Men.” The film opens on an iconic scene of a brainwashed Nightcrawler fighting and teleporting his way through the White House in an attack on the president.
Cumming, however, has spoken at length about his distasteful experience making “X2.” The actor/host wrote about his experiences on the film in his memoir, “Baggage: Tales from a Fully Packed Life,” speaking to a troubled production at the hands of Singer.
“Doomsday,” Cumming said, was a much different experience.
“It was actually really great to go back. And especially, I’m 60 years old. I did not think I would be doing stunts, playing a superhero in my 60s. So that was great,” Cumming said. “And everyone was really nice. And I got it done really quickly because I couldn’t go, because of ‘The Traitors,’ when most of my scenes were being shot.”
Nightcrawler first appeared in Len Wein and Dave Cockrum’s “Giant-Size X-Men #1,” a precursor to Chris Claremont’s beloved “Uncanny X-Men” run. This book helped redefine the X-Men for decades to come, featuring the first appearances of Storm, Colossus and Thunderbird alongside Nightcrawler, as well as the additions of Wolverine, Sunfire and Banshee to the team.
In the comics, Nightcrawler is the son of the shape-shifting, blue-skinned mutant Mystique (played by Rebecca Romijn and Jennifer Lawrence). In “X2,” Kurt additionally covers his body in tattoos to mark his sins. This meant long hours in the makeup chair for Cumming. This process has since been significantly cut down — perhaps adding to Cumming’s renewed energy for the upcoming “Avengers” production.
Cumming won’t be the only actor from the ruins of Fox’s “X-Men” franchise coming back for “Avengers: Doomsday.” Joining the actor in the Russo brothers team-up film (featuring Robert Downey Jr. as the villainous Doctor Doom) are James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique). This sprawling cast was announced as part of a livestream where Marvel Studios revealed director chairs with the actors’ names. Channing Tatum’s Gambit will also appear in the film, though he didn’t join the franchise until the MCU’s “Deadpool & Wolverine.”
Cumming’s time on the blockbuster, however, seems to already be up, as the Emmy-nominated host had to return for upcoming seasons of “The Traitors.”
“I would’ve liked to have been there for weeks and weeks,” Cumming said. “I wasn’t there for very long at all.”
