Alan Cumming, who first wowed X-Men fans with his turn as the teleporting, blue-skinned mutant Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United, will return for Avengers: Doomsday, and in it, he’ll be facing off with another major character in the film.
In a recent interview, Cumming casually dropped a major detail about his character’s upcoming MCU clash and it guess this could be considered a spoiiler, so proceed at your own risk:
“Right now, I’m doing it again. I’m playing Nightcrawler again and was learning stunts yesterday for some fight scene.
“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, Nightcrawler is going toe-to-toe with Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic.
Cumming didn’t seem entirely sure what the fight was about, but it was enough to light up fan speculation. Is this an all-out X-Men vs. Fantastic Four battle? A classic superhero misunderstanding brawl? Or something much deeper like a Multiversal Incursion tearing two worlds into conflict?
If the comics are anything to go by, a looming Incursion would make a lot of sense. The idea of the X-Men clashing with Marvel’s First Family isn’t exactly new.
Fans have been speculating that Avengers: Doomsday is acting as a stealth Avengers vs. X-Men movie. Cumming’s little spoiler just gave that theory some weight.
The confirmed cast already includes heavy hitters like Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Ian McKellen (Magneto), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast), and even Channing Tatum as Gambit, carried over from Deadpool & Wolverine.
Notably absent are characters like Jean Grey, Storm, Rogue, and Hugh Jackman’s Wolverine, but we are waiting for more casting announcements.
And while the X-Men reunion is exciting, Cumming himself seems delighted about suiting up again.
“Isn’t it nuts? I’m excited and amazed. It’s been 23 years since I was a superhero. I’ve had some makeup tests already for the role, but what’s great about it was that before it was about 4 and a half hours to apply it, but now it’s only 90 minutes.”
Even the makeup and tattoos got a tech upgrade:
“Before, all of the tattoos were done by hand. They hadn’t decided on them before we started filming. Now, they just stick onto my face. It’s a game changer. I’m going back to being a 60-year-old superhero, and everyone seems really lovely.”
Nightcrawler’s iconic White House sequence in X2 is still considered one of the most visually stunning moments in any superhero film. If the Russo Brothers are looking to top that, throwing him into a high-speed showdown with Reed Richards might just do the trick.
