Alan Cumming Teases Makeup Process for Nightcrawler’s Return in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’

In the Marvel world, Alan Cumming will reprise his role as Nightcrawler in ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’

In a recent interview, the anchor of ‘Traitors U.S.’ stated that advancements in makeup methods have made it much easier to reprise his part than it was during his initial appearance in ‘X2’ in 2003.

 Cumming reflected on the passing of time and stated that it had been 23 years since he last played a superhero.  He acknowledged that makeup tests had previously been conducted when questioned about the rigorous makeup procedure needed for Nightcrawler.  Transformation used to take four and a half to five hours, but thanks to improved technology, it now only takes 90 minutes.  In contrast to the past, when last-minute design decisions necessitated hand-painting elaborate tattoos, the new procedure now uses pre-made appliqués, which greatly streamlines the process.

Image Courtesy: Yahoo

Cumming, who is now 60, said that he is thrilled to be going back to the superhero world and that everyone working on the movie has been really kind.  He said that the experience will be crazy and that he would shortly start filming in London.

 Cumming will be reprising Nightcrawler for the first time since ‘X2: X-Men United’, rejoining co-stars James Marsden (Cyclops), Rebecca Romijn (Mystique), Ian McKellen (Magneto), and Patrick Stewart (Professor X).

 Cumming had previously talked about some of the difficulties he encountered while playing Nightcrawler, including the long hours spent in makeup, the agony of wearing harnesses for flight and tail sequences, and the difficulty performing daily things like using the restroom because of the prosthetics.

In May 2026, ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ will be released in theaters.

–Farheen Ali