Alan Cumming first played Nightcrawler in 2003's X2: X-Men United, and he'll finally reprise the role in Avengers: Doomsday. The actor has shared a few exciting hints about the movie—including a possible clash between Kurt Wagner and Mister Fantastic—but has since chosen his words carefully after receiving a telling off from Marvel Studios.
The teleporter's attack on the White House in the X-Men sequel is still considered iconic, and the actor reprising the role in the MCU is incredibly exciting (he's previously said that Bryan Singer was the reason he walked away from the role). The Russo Brothers are no doubt eager to at least match the sequence, especially as Cumming's return is so long-awaited.
The actor recently appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live!, and was asked what fans can expect from Nightcrawler in Avengers: Doomsday.
"All of [the X-Men cast] are in it, too," the Scottish actor started. "What was funny was that in my first scene with Pedro, he hurt his neck and had to go home. I broke Pedro."
Kimmel pushed Cumming on whether that occurred during a fight scene. "No, I wasn't fighting. No, no. I was just, sort of, being...we were just together in a scene, and I wasn't fighting, no," he claimed. "He's got these big long arms and everything, so it's quite complicated. I do have a tail, but I didn't have my tail on at the time. Pedro didn't have his arms on either."
As a reminder, it was last May when Cumming said he "was learning stunts yesterday for some fight scene," adding, "I'm sort of learning these fights and I'm like, 'What, who am I fighting with?' [They’re like,] 'You're hitting Pedro Pascal against the head.' I can't quite believe [that]."
So, yes, this injury almost certainly occurred while Mister Fantastic and Nightcrawler were squaring off! We're assuming that Cumming is joking about Pascal's long arms, though it would be interesting if the Russo Brothers had somehow figured out a way to create practical stretching effects in Avengers: Doomsday.
You can hear more from Cumming on Avengers: Doomsday around the 3:00 mark in the video below.
Avengers: Doomsday officially stars Chris Hemsworth, Anthony Mackie, Winston Duke, Tom Hiddleston, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Paul Rudd, and Robert Downey Jr. Wyatt Russell, Simu Liu, Tenoch Huerta Mejia, Florence Pugh, Danny Ramirez, David Harbour, Hannah John-Kamen, and Lewis Pullman all make their Avengers franchise debuts in the movie.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps leads Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn join them, as do X-Men franchise stars Kelsey Grammer, Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Alan Cumming, Rebecca Romijn, James Marsden, with Deadpool & Wolverine star Channing Tatum.
Chris Evans is also officially confirmed to reprise his role as Steve Rogers, as is India Rose Hemsworth as Love. The Hollywood trades have reported that Hayley Atwell and Ryan Reynolds will appear as Peggy Carter and Deadpool, respectively.
The Russo Brothers direct Avengers: Doomsday from a screenplay by Stephen McFeely, with whom they previously collaborated on the Avengers and Captain America franchises. Loki and Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness's Michael Waldron is also working on the script.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to be released on December 18, with Avengers: Secret Wars scheduled to arrive on December 17, 2027.