AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY - Alan Cumming Shares Hilarious Response To News Of His Return As X2's Nightcrawler

AVENGERS: DOOMSDAY - Alan Cumming Shares Hilarious Response To News Of His Return As X2's Nightcrawler

Nobody ever expected to see Alan Cumming reprise his X2 role as Nightcrawler, but the mutant hero will return for Avengers: Doomsday, and the actor has now shared his response to the news...

By MarkCassidy - Mar 27, 2025 07:03 AM EST
Filed Under: Avengers: Doomsday

BAMF!

Of all the actors announced as being part of Avengers: Doomsday's cast during yesterday's massive reveal live-stream, Alan Cumming might have been the most surprising.

Cumming appeared in 20th Century Fox's X-Men sequel as Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, but declined the studio's offer to reprise the role for the third film because he had no interest in sitting through the arduous makeup process again.

Wagner didn't show up in the franchise again until Kodi Smit-McPhee took over as a younger take on the character in X-Men: Apocalypse.

“The character is really interesting, the message of the film (tolerance of others who are different from us) was very timely and unusual for a Hollywood blockbuster, but the real drag was having to spend over four hours a day having two men poke my face,” Cumming posted to his website recently. “Then there were the harnesses for the tail and for flying, the feet, the hands — which made going to the loo a group effort, the teeth, the lenses, oh God don’t get me started.”

Now, Cumming has taken to Instagram to share a fun response to the casting news, captioning his brief video, "Never Say Never."

The process of transforming Cumming into Nightcrawler may not be as gruelling for Doomsday (CGI will likely be utilized for certain elements of the character's look), but we'd say he will still have to spend quite a bit of time in the makeup chair!

Cumming will be joined by fellow OG X-Men Ian McKellen (Magneto), Patrick Stewart (Professor X), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique). You can check out the full (for now) cast list below.

• Paul Rudd as Ant-Man

• Simu Liu as Shang-Chi

• Tom Hiddleston as Loki

• Lewis Pullman as Sentry

• Florence Pugh as Yelena

• Danny Ramirez as Falcon

• Ian McKellen as Magneto

• Sebastian Stan as Bucky

• Winston Duke as M’Baku

• Chris Hemsworth as Thor

• Kelsey Grammer as Beast

• James Marsden as Cyclops

• Channing Tatum as Gambit

• Wyatt Russell as U.S. Agent

• Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm

• Rebecca Romijn as Mystique

• Patrick Stewart as Professor X

• Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler

• Letitia Wright as Black Panther

• Tenoch Huerta Mejia as Namor

• Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards

• Hannah John-Kamen as Ghost

• Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm

• David Harbour as Red Guardian

• Robert Downey Jr as Doctor Doom

• Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing

• Anthony Mackie as Captain America

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TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 7:06 AM
I love Alan Cumming lol though I wonder if he’s keeping the moustache for the role too (I hope not).

Anyway , I liked his version of the character though it would be cool if we saw him be more swashbuckling in this…

Give the man 2 swords!!.

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Apophis71
Apophis71 - 3/27/2025, 7:17 AM
@TheVisionary25 - I would assume this time he will be Mocap like Beast was for The Marvels end credit and if so odds are tache gone (unless the tech has had major upgrades they tended to be an issue for capturing facial features/movements) esp as unless mistaken he is clean shaven when on the American version of The Traitors.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/27/2025, 7:06 AM
To this day, Alan’s turn as Nightcrawler was one of the best casting decisions ever made. Xcellent performance (pun intended) Cumming absolutely nailed it as Kurt Wagner and that opening in X2 is one of the openings to a film, ever. Can’t wait to see him return in Doomsday.
MarkCassidy
MarkCassidy - 3/27/2025, 7:12 AM
@CaptainAwkward - I thought he was great in the role, but I never really liked the look of the character... McPhee actually looked a bit better, but didn't get the chance to do much.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 3/27/2025, 7:40 AM
@CaptainAwkward - can we uncancel Bryan Singer now?
Vigor
Vigor - 3/27/2025, 7:55 AM
@vectorsigma - youre a red pill kinda guy, arent ya
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 3/27/2025, 8:03 AM
@vectorsigma - no. Nobody wants Brian Singer except confused college boys who need money.
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/27/2025, 8:38 AM
@MarkCassidy - Dude thats so weird because I think the opposite. I really prefer cumming under the makeup & Prostectics as opposed to Cody McPhee, nothing against him but Cumming just looks like a nightcrawler to me. It’s his eyes. 👀
CaptainAwkward
CaptainAwkward - 3/27/2025, 9:24 AM
@vectorsigma - Sure I’ll get on the phone to the elites who run the media and tell them to pardon Singer from his transgressions. All jokes aside he is a great director, what he did with Xmen, X2 & DOFP should not be denied. Thanks to him, the MCU is where it is today.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 3/27/2025, 10:01 AM
@Vigor - lolz.

Last time i checked. All were allegations.

In this day and age, you accidentally breath on someome and its assault already.

vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 3/27/2025, 10:02 AM
@CaptainAwkward - yeah, his work on those films paved the way
Goldboink
Goldboink - 3/27/2025, 11:00 AM
@vectorsigma -
Nope
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 3/27/2025, 1:55 PM
@vectorsigma - hell no.
Repian
Repian - 3/27/2025, 7:09 AM
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PC04
PC04 - 3/27/2025, 10:09 AM
@Repian - Alex Ross has such a good eye for character design. This would be cool to see on screen.
Dabs
Dabs - 3/27/2025, 3:15 PM
@PC04 - I disagree wholeheartedly. Ross' costume designs are fine for 2d paintings. When you try to bring them to the real world, they look like cheap leotards that are very unflattering.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 3/27/2025, 7:22 AM
@bkmeijer1 - The first film came out 25 years ago. Life comes at you pretty fast . . .
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/27/2025, 7:39 AM
@Clintthahamster - yeah. At the time, their ages made sense for the castings. Wild to think how much the genre has changed since they.
Clintthahamster
Clintthahamster - 3/27/2025, 9:32 AM
@bkmeijer1 - Man, weird, not sure why this comment ended up here. CBM.com is truly a world of mysteries. But yeah, I wouldn't want anyone comparing pictures of me today to pictures of me in 2019, back when I had a hairline, a jawline, and a waistline.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/27/2025, 9:49 AM
@Clintthahamster - oh yeah, same over here. And I especially don't want any comparisons to 25 years ago
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/27/2025, 7:15 AM
Didn't realise it, but the X-Men cast is quite old already. Guessing they'll CGI Nightcrawler like they did with Beast though, so shouldn't be too hard.

Also, I'm guessing they're the '97 X-Men (including suits) and not the FoX-Men. Would also explain Gambit. Tatum really did make a name for himself. From joke casting to Avengers.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 7:19 AM
@bkmeijer1 - doubt they cg him but maybe do a mix of prosthetics and VFX (maybe even de-age him a bit) to make the process easier on Cumming.

Also I doubt this is the 97 X-Men but the ones at the end of the Marvels though I’m sure the suits will be similar
Apophis71
Apophis71 - 3/27/2025, 7:26 AM
@TheVisionary25 - To get Alan back after the nightmare he had with all practical last time AND the age aspects is why I assume it will be Mocap which need not be an issue. They may do practical face makeup etc however for some filming as that will aid lighting references and thus fine tuning the CGI but also reduce the work for FX crews if only minor touch ups in post needed for closeups.

There WAS more to why Cummings walked from the role last time, as in by all accounts a toxic work environment, but the time in makeup and all that was one of the things he singled out as being a big negative of his role last time.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 7:32 AM
@Apophis71 - idk if Nightcrawler works in Mocap since besides his appearance and the tail , he’s very much human while Beast is humanoid.

It’s why I think doing a mix of makeup/prosthetics for the face & such with like a VFX tail would be the best option but we’ll see
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/27/2025, 7:37 AM
@TheVisionary25 - yeah, probably not full CGI. And prosthetics have come a long way, so should be bearable for Alan.

And could they will visually look like the '97 X-Men. Still, who's to say the ending of the Marvels wasn't that universe to begin with?
AC1
AC1 - 3/27/2025, 7:48 AM
@TheVisionary25 - I think it could work if they decide to go down the mo-cap route rather than practical, I mean, look at what was achieved with Gollum over 20 years ago in The Lord of the Rings movies!

But also if they do go down the practical route, the makeup process has probably been streamlined a lot since X2, we always hear about characters like Mystique and Nebula having a quicker makeup process with each appearance.

It's also possible this isn't actually the same character we saw in X2, so there might be some sort of redesign that makes things easier for them to do compared to 20 years ago, like how Kelsey Grammer voiced Beast in The Marvels even though it was a different universe and he looked completely different and was achieved via mo-cap.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 7:56 AM
@AC1 - true.

I just feel like doing VFX for Beast makes more sense then doing it for Nightcrawler whose relatively human dimensions wise etc.
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 8:11 AM
@bkmeijer1 - true but idk if Marvel would want to hinder 97 that way because I doubt these variants survive post SW and isn’t 97 meant to go on beyond S2 & S3?.
bkmeijer1
bkmeijer1 - 3/27/2025, 8:37 AM
@TheVisionary25 - that's true. Think we'll see S2 before Doomsday, but that still leaves S3. Either way, I just wanna see those suits in live action
TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 3/27/2025, 8:40 AM
@bkmeijer1 - I think you will regardless lol
AC1
AC1 - 3/27/2025, 9:35 AM
@TheVisionary25 - oh yeah definitely makes more sense for larger than life characters like Beast, Hulk etc but if it was a deal breaker for Alan Cumming to reprise the role without a super involved and uncomfortable makeup process then I'm sure they could do a great job with mo-cap
McMurdo
McMurdo - 3/27/2025, 10:24 AM
@bkmeijer1 - they're gonna give all the old foxmen comic accurate outfits before they recast the new xmen with comic accurate outfits. Interesting decision.
NOID
NOID - 3/27/2025, 7:19 AM
There was no doubt it was going to be VO with a cgi nightcrawler
Thing94
Thing94 - 3/27/2025, 7:23 AM
This is awesome, he was such a great casting as Nightcrawler
WeaponXCII
WeaponXCII - 3/27/2025, 7:40 AM
I know that it probably isn’t the case, but aren’t we all just assuming that they’re returning as their previous characters? The reveal was the actors, not who they’re playing.
vectorsigma
vectorsigma - 3/27/2025, 7:42 AM
@WeaponXCII - klesey grammer has shown they will be the same characters.

And nostalgia bait rules confirm this. Marvel is too desperate to shuffle things
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 3/27/2025, 8:02 AM
Looks like we are getting an Avengers vs X-men in Doomsday.
Would’ve been cool to have that as a separate movie but I’m also just happy we are going to get to see the Old X-men vs the New Avengers.
slickrickdesigns
slickrickdesigns - 3/27/2025, 8:05 AM
X2’s opening with Night Crawler might be the best opening to an X-men film and yes, better than DOFP.
TDKRnry88
TDKRnry88 - 3/27/2025, 12:32 PM
@slickrickdesigns - No lie told. Straight fire!!!
thedrudo
thedrudo - 3/27/2025, 8:12 AM
He’s hilarious too as the host of The Traitors
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