Fresh off his Emmy win for The Traitors, Alan Cumming revealed in a recent conversation with Variety that his return as Nightcrawler in Marvel’s Avengers: Doomsday is already complete. “Well, I’ve already done it. I finished it,” the actor said, confirming he has wrapped filming on the much-anticipated Marvel ensemble.
Cumming, who last appeared as the teleporting mutant in 2002’s X2, admitted he went into the role without rewatching the earlier film. Surprisingly, that worked in his favour. “I think that was what really helped, because this is super intense and is loads of stuff at once,” he explained.
The 59-year-old actor described the experience as physically demanding but exhilarating. “I did a lot of stunt work and training. That was amazing,” he shared, laughing that even the stunt crew was shocked by his energy: “The stunt people couldn’t believe that I could get up, let alone jump around and do this boxing and training.”
He also praised how much easier the character’s famously gruelling transformation process has become. Speaking earlier on Today With Jenna and Friends, Cumming said, “Actually, what’s great about it is that it was four-and-a-half to five hours before, and now it’s 90 minutes.” Advances in visual effects only made the job smoother. “The thing about green screen, CGI and face replacement is that it’s very detailed work. So I did feel that I got a chance to really portray the character again properly.”
Avengers: Doomsday reunites Cumming with fellow X-Men stars Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, and Rebecca Romijn. The film also brings back MCU mainstays including Robert Downey Jr, Paul Rudd, Tom Hiddleston, Anthony Mackie, Sebastian Stan, Letitia Wright, Danny Ramirez, and Winston Duke.
The crossover event hits theatres on December 18, 2026, with its sequel, Avengers: Secret Wars slated for December 17, 2027.
