Alan Cumming is returning to the Marvel universe — and this time, it’s a far more rewarding experience.
The Scottish actor, best known for playing the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler in X2: X-Men United (2003), recently opened up about revisiting the character in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. Speaking at the 2025 Televerse conference, Cumming revealed to People that reprising the role in the Russo brothers’ highly anticipated Marvel film was a cathartic experience.
“I just came back. It was amazing,” Cumming said. “In a sort of ooey, gooey way, it was really healing and really nice to go back to something that was a terrible experience when I did it the first time.”
While X2 remains a fan-favorite among early superhero films, Cumming has previously described the production as “miserable.” His biggest challenges included enduring up to five hours in the makeup chair each day to transform into the iconic blue-skinned character, along with on-set difficulties — most notably with director Bryan Singer, whose leadership has since been scrutinized in multiple reports about the X-Men franchise.
Despite those hardships, Cumming emphasized that his return for Doomsday was vastly different. “It was actually really great to go back,” he shared. “Everyone was really nice. And I got it done really quickly.”
Due to scheduling conflicts with his hit reality series The Traitors, the actor filmed most of his scenes separately using green screen and tight scheduling. “I couldn’t go when most of my scenes were being shot, so I squashed them all together. It was pretty stealthy,” he added.
Cumming, now 60, expressed surprise and delight at performing superhero stunts again at this stage in his career. “I did not think I would be doing stunts, playing a superhero in my 60s. So that was great.”
Plot details for Avengers: Doomsday, part of Marvel’s Phase Six lineup, remain tightly under wraps. However, Cumming has teased a possible fight scene with Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic, hinting at an exciting return for fans of both the actor and his teleporting alter ego.
Avengers: Doomsday is set to hit theaters in May 2026.
