X-Men star Alan Cumming ‘excited and amazed’ to make Marvel return with Avengers: Doomsday
Alan Cumming think's it's "nuts" he's returning to Marvel for 'Avengers: Doomsday' and has teased a key reason for his comeback is because the makeup process to transform him into Nightcrawler has been streamlined.
Alan Cumming is "excited and amazed" to return to Marvel in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’.
The 60-year-old actor portrayed Nightcrawler in 2003's ‘X2: X-Men United’ and is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) blockbuster, and has now revealed a big reason he agreed to return was because the makeup process to get into character has been streamlined.
Speaking with fellow ‘X-Men’ star Olivia Munn for Collider, Cumming said: "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 four and a half hours to apply it, but now it's only 90 minutes.
"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."
The ‘Spy Kids’ star also revealed ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ "begins shooting quite soon" in London, and teased the film is "going to be nuts".
As well as Cumming, other ‘X-Men’ alums returning for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ - which will be followed by ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ in 2027 - include Sir Patrick Stewart (Professor X), Sir Ian McKellen (Magneto), James Marsden (Cyclops), Kelsey Grammer (Beast) and Rebecca Romijn (Mystique).
Channing Tatum - who portrayed Gambit in ‘Deadpool and Wolverine’ - is also set to appear in the 2026 movie, though he recently joked he was "only guaranteed" a chair to watch the movie in.
He told ExtraTV: "Personally, all I was guaranteed was a chair.
"They said that I have a chair, and I can at least watch the movie from the chair. You know, and it was just my name, it wasn't exactly Gambit.
"So, I work in the world of just like, of binary yes or no's, and I've only been guaranteed so far a chair to watch the movie in, so that's where I'm at."
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ will see the Avengers, Fantastic Four, Thunderbolts and the X-Men team up in an effort to stop the dreaded Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
While several ‘X-Men’ stars will be returning for ‘Avengers: Doomsday’, Halle Berry - who played Storm from 2000’s ‘X-Men’ to ‘X-Men: Days of Future Past’ in 2014 - recently admitted she had no plans to make Marvel movies again.
Asked if she would consider coming back to the genre, she simply told U.S. TV show ‘Extra’: "Nope!"
‘Avengers: Doomsday’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently stated that "nobody else in the world" could take on the role of Doctor Doom other than Downey Jr., who previously led the MCU as Iron Man from 2008’s eponymous movie until the character’s death in ‘Avengers: Endgame’ in 2019.
In an interview with The Sunday Times, Anthony said: "We can’t explain that as it’s part of the story, but there’s nobody else in the world who could play this character the way he’s about to."
