Alan Cumming Calls Avengers: Doomsday 'Superhero Soup' in Nightcrawler Return

A lot of familiar faces are returning for Avengers: Doomsday, and while some have barely been away from the Marvel Cinematic Universe, others haven't been seen in decades. With the multiverse opening the door to characters from Marvel's past, audiences get the chance to reunite with old favorites who might otherwise have remained confined to superhero history. For one returning star, the experience has been something of a pleasant surprise, even if he hasn't the faintest idea what's going on around him.

Speaking exclusively with Collider's Taylor Gates for a profile interview, Alan Cumming revealed that returning as Nightcrawler in Avengers: Doomsday reminded him how much he enjoyed playing the character, even if he describes the upcoming Marvel blockbuster as "superhero soup." Cumming originally portrayed Kurt Wagner, the teleporting mutant, in 2003's X2: X-Men United, but he famously hated the experience of shooting it, thanks to the nature of the makeup application at the time. However, he found himself enjoying the process a lot more this time around, even if it's clear he wasn't there because of his love of Marvel movies.

Despite that, Cumming clearly holds great affection for the character, and he was pleasantly surprised to be asked back to reprise the role after more than 20 years. Asked what surprised him most about returning to the role, Cumming told Collider:

"I suppose how much I liked him. I forgot. The whole thing last time was, when I look back on it, I don't really think much about the playing of him and the character. It's all sort of mired in the whole awful nature of the fact that making it was so difficult. It was completely out of the blue. I didn't think it was gonna happen, so when they asked me, I was like, 'Oh!' It was really nice. He doesn't really do that much in the film. He's got nice bits, but there's a lot of superheroes in that film. It's so nuts. It's like superhero soup. But I just enjoyed playing him again. He’s got a sensitive side, and he's quite funny. It was nice to go back to something and remember how much you actually enjoyed it."

Alan Cumming Admits He Can't Keep Up With the Marvel Cinematic Universe

Of course, returning to Marvel after more than 20 years means stepping into a franchise that's grown considerably since Cumming last appeared as Nightcrawler. When X2 arrived in theaters in 2003, the MCU didn't even exist, and the idea of dozens of interconnected movies and television series building toward enormous crossover events was still years away. It's fair to say Marvel movies look and feel a lot different than they did back in 2003, when X2 arrived. But catching up on over 30 movies and even more TV shows? Think again. Cumming told Collider:

"I don't know how people have the time! I really don't. I watched the one with the different sitcoms, and I loved that, but now, I feel like there are so many. It’s impossible. I'm never going to have the time to catch up, so it feels daunting. I just try to understand my bits and play the voice. Also, some people have different names — that's the other thing. They have different names, and they become superheroes, and all that sort of stuff. It was very confusing to me. It's not designed for me."

The series Cumming is referring to is almost certainly WandaVision, which famously explored different eras of television sitcoms while telling the story of Wanda Maximoff and Vision, but given the sheer amount of Marvel content released since the franchise began, it's perhaps understandable that someone who last played a mutant in 2003 might find the whole thing slightly overwhelming. However, if he was going to watch one of them? Great choice. Still, despite his confusion about the wider MCU, Cumming's enthusiasm for Nightcrawler is clearly undiminished.

Marvel Studios' Avengers: Doomsday is scheduled to arrive in theaters on December 18, 2026. Stay tuned at Collider for more and don't miss Gates' full profile interview with Cumming.