Alan Cumming Returns in Avengers: Doomsday After 22 Years & It's an Even Bigger Deal Than RDJ Comeback
Marvel Studios has unveiled the cast for upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, and yes, Nightcrawler will return, too.
Yep, you heard that right. During a recent live stream that had me glued to my phone, Marvel Studios announced the unexpected: Alan Cumming is making his grand return into the MCU as Nightcrawler.
Let me remind you that it's been 22 years since we last saw Cumming's perfect portrayal of Kurt Wagner in X2. So if you're tired of rewatching X-Men United, this is some great news for you. Now all we have to do is wait until 2026...
Fans Are Losing Their Minds Over the News (And So Am I)
But for now, let's see what fans had to say. And this excitement is contagious. As Redditor flyingnapalmman shared:
“HELL YEAH! Favourite character from my favourite X-Men movie [is] finally coming back! Hope Alan Cumming gets to be a little less religious Kurt and more fun swashbuckling love machine this time, but either way I’m so glad he’s back and that they drove a dump truck full of money to his house. Fabulous.”
While I love the idea of a swashbuckling Kurt, I actually liked the religious aspect brought to his character. Maybe they could combine both? That would be amazing, honestly!
What makes this comeback even more remarkable is the context, as pointed out by Givingtree310:
“After a horrible experience working with Bryan Singer and hating the makeup, he vowed to never portray Nightcrawler again. So this is amazing to get him back after 22 years.”
That's so true. Cumming really did hate getting all that makeup on, and I don't blame him. That's a lot of work. Speaking of the infamous makeup process, another fan, Stripe-Gremlin raised an interesting point:
“[I’m] guessing Kurt’s gonna be CGI cause there ain’t no way they are getting him into all that makeup again.”
Alan Cumming Undoubtedly Will Take Over the World as Nightcrawler
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And though I am a fan of practical effects more than CGI, knowing Marvel's budget, I'm hoping for a top-tier quality (let's all pray that it works out nicely). Well, even if CGI somehow will turn out a little bit tacky here and there, one thing will remain perfect. And that is Cumming's portrayal of Nightcrawler.
What really gets me excited is the return of that perfect German accent and the depth Cumming brings to every role. I also love thinking about a time when Cumming mentioned that X-Men was his gayest movie ever. In an interview to Entertainment Weekly, he shared:
“I think the X-Men film I'm in is the gayest film that I've ever done, and that's me saying that. It's got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it. I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer.”
Overall, setting the nostalgia factor aside, I do think this is a great decision. A perfect one even. Future MCU has some treats for us and I think we're all ready to take them.
Who Else Returns in Avengers: Doomsday?
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We already knew that Robert Downey Jr. would be switching masks from Iron Man to Dr. Doom, so his comeback, albeit a controversial one, isn't the most exciting news for fans.
Still, Doomsday will feature a lot of OG Marvel heroes: Chris Hemsworth will return as Thor, joined by Tom Hiddleston as Loki. Then, it’s Anthony Mackie as Captain America with Danny Ramirez as The Falcon, Paul Rudd as Ant-Man, Letitia Wright as Black Panther with Winston Duke as M’Baku and Tenoch Huerta as Namor, and Simu Liu as Shang-Chi.
Fantastic Four also joins the game: Doomsday will see Pedro Pascal ( Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (The Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), and Joseph Quinn ( The Human Torch).
Kelsey Grammer will return as The Beast after his cameo in The Marvels, as well as Channing Tatum, who is going to bring Gambit back to screens after his appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Last but not least, prepare to see Thunderbolts, including Sebastian Stan ( The Winter Soldier), Florence Pugh ( Yelena Belova), Wyatt Russell (U.S. Agent), David Harbour ( Red Guardian), and Hannah John-Kamen (Ghost).
