Alan Cumming played Marvel’s first live-action movie Kurt Wagner in X2: X-Men United, and audiences were surprised when his cobalt-skinned mutant did not return for the film’s sequel, X-Men: The Last Stand. While the Goldeneye star made an impact as the teleporting German Catholic, he has not been seen in Marvel’s films for some time, which made his announcement as part of the cast of Avengers: Doomsday notably surprising. With that in mind, it is worth looking back and understanding the reasons Cumming was absent from The Last Stand.
The cast for Doomsday includes several X-Men characters, including Professor X, Magneto, and Mystique. While no details about their characters have been officially confirmed, it seems likely that Avengers: Doomsday will spend at least some time in the universe where X-Men took place. Doing so will require the details to align with the continuity set out in that series of films, which could make the changed X-Men timeline important. Either way, the reasons behind Cumming’s absence from The Last Stand may help to explain how and why he returns.
Alan Cumming Found The Experience Of Makeup To Be Too Arduous
Nightcrawler Was A Fully Practical Invention
Alan Cumming has spoken positively about being a part of X2: X-Men United, telling Entertainment Weekly: “I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer… those sorts of films really help people understand queerness, because you can address it in an artistic way, and everyone is less scared of the concept. It’s an allegory about queerness, about people having these great gifts and really great, powerful things that they have to hide to exist.” However, Cumming did not return for the sequel, at least partially due to the intensive makeup process.
The outfit that he had to wear included several harnesses for components like his tail, and he had to put on fake teeth and contact lenses to achieve the character’s otherworldly look. Worse than this, however, he also had to be covered all over with blue makeup.
Despite being practical effects, the outfit was incredibly impractical, and reportedly greatly impacted Cumming’s experience working on the film. It would take hours to cover himself up in the blue-skin effects, as well as to have all the different lines of the scars worked into the look. While this excellent look helped in putting together one of the most shocking opening scenes in superhero movies, it clearly wore on Cumming. In order to return to the role, the actor would have needed a sizable enough part to justify all the time required.
Brett Ratner’s X-Men: The Last Stand Cut Him Out Of The Movie
The Final Script For X-Men 3 Omitted Cumming’s Character
X-Men: The Last Stand went through several iterations during development, and the biggest change behind the scenes saw Rush Hour director Brett Ratner coming in to direct the film after Bryan Singer left. There were several directors who nearly worked on The Last Stand as the film went through development, and many of these different iterations saw changes to the script. While the Singer version had a role for Cumming, it was only a small one, and was done away with when Ratner took his place on the project.
With the X-Men having such a large cast of characters to balance, it is occasionally difficult to find compelling enough stories to justify the inclusion of each one in each film. The Last Stand quickly did away with characters like Cyclops, making room for a story that focused predominantly on Jean Grey during her transformation into the Phoenix. While the film could have used Cumming’s Kurt Wagner, the character was not required, and was ultimately cut from the final version of the film’s script.
Alan Cumming Voiced Nightcrawler In The Last Stand’s Game Adaptation
The Video Game Explained His Absence From X-Men 3
X-Men: The Official Game bridged the events between X2 and X-Men: The Last Stand, and included an appearance by Nightcrawler, voiced by Alan Cumming himself. The game actually explained why Nightcrawler didn’t return for The Last Stand, and saw the blue-skinned mutant as one of three playable characters alongside Wolverine and Iceman. During the events of the game, Wagner decides that he no longer wishes to be a part of the X-Men team due to all of the violence involved.
Wagner is a peaceful character, and the game sees him returning to Germany at its end. Xavier understands Wagner’s desire to leave the team, but tells him that he is still welcome among them. It is unclear if this ending will in any way influence the story of Kurt’s return in Doomsday. Especially after X-Men: Days of Future Past reset the timeline, Marvel will have flexibility in whatever stories they wish to tell with Nightcrawler. The films have the room even to reinvent the character, making him even closer to his swashbuckling comic counterpart, if it suits the project.
Alan Cumming returning for Avengers: Doomsday is certainly an exciting addition to the upcoming film’s cast. Marvel has spent many of their recent projects bringing in legacy characters and performers, but his inclusion is still certainly a pleasant and notable surprise. Exactly how Nightcrawler will fit into the film after being absent from X-Men: The Last Stand is an unclear matter right now, but Marvel clearly has interesting plans ahead for the character, and how that fits into the larger story of Doomsday is a compelling question.
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