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In Which We Make A Terrible Pun

Alan Cumming Will Not Be One of the Many, Many Returning X-Men Actors in Days of Future Past

by Rebecca Pahle | 11:00 am, March 13th, 2013


It’s official: 20th Century Fox has confirmed that Alan Cumming won’t be in X-Men: Days of Future Past. I’ve gotta say, the news makes me rather… blue. (BA-DOOM-TISS)

Director Bryan Singer has teased fans before about creating an all-CGI character for Days of Future Past, and he was a bit coy on whether that character would be Nightcrawler, saying “We’ll see… sometimes you don’t want to say ‘yes’ or ‘no’ to something that may not be a ‘yes’ or a ‘no,’ or anything. I haven’t decided yet, a few things. I’m still, you know—there are certain aspects of the script that I’m still toying with.”

But it looks like Cumming, if not necessarily Nightcrawler, is now a definite no. A few days back James McAvoy accidentally listed him as one of the actors in Days of Future Past, saying:

“The cast is huge. You’ve got me, Nick Hoult, Sir Patrick Stewart, Sir Ian McKellen, Halle Berry, Alan Cumming, Peter Dinklage… ‘Huge’ Jackman‘s coming by. He is huge. He’s massive, he’s about 7’5″.”

… which prompted the studio to clarify that, no, Alan Cumming won’t be in Days of Future Past, actually. McAvoy might have been trying to use the power of positive thinking to will the actor into the film, all psychic-like. Can you blame him?

Of course, there’s still a chance that Nightcrawer will be in the film, maybe as the CGI character with someone other than Cumming donning the motion capture dots and doing the voice. I hope not, but that would explain why McAvoy assumed he’d be returning. (Then again, McAvoy reportedly hasn’t read the script yet, so…) The hours Cumming had to spend in the makeup chair each day for X2 soured him on returning for The Last Stand, so maybe he’s just done with the franchise in general.

Because I love and respect you, readers, and want to hear your opinions on things: Would you want Nightcrawler to be in Days of Future Past even if he was played by a different actor?

(via: TotalFilm)

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  • Anonymous

    Cumming said he HATED all the preparation for the make-up he had to do, and the actor who played Azazel said the same thing. That said, it’s a shame, because Nightcrawler was one of my favorite things about X-2 (my favorite movie in the franchise).
    Though with so many characters they can’t bring EVERYONE back without it being a huge mess.

  • Andria Waclawski

    Hear hear! I am bummed he’s not coming back, too.

  • Anonymous

    Doug Jones as Nightcrawler! He’s a seasoned pro, he’s great at it, and he can do the German accent!

  • Rebecca Pahle

    I’m not a big fan of recasting generally speaking, but that would be AWESOME.

  • http://www.facebook.com/TheChainsawKitten Tanya Taylor

    It took 8 to 10 hours a day to get Rebecca Romijn into her makeup/body paint for mystique. it got so bad she would nearly break down on the set after filming all day. The director used to take her aside and they would drink wine to calm her down so she could work. I don’t think people understand how grueling sitting in that chair and then wearing that makeup and those evil contacts can make you freak out. I don’t blame him for not wanting to come back though I am sad, he was AMAZING as Nightcrawler.

  • ACF

    I like Nightcrawler, and I think he was the one of the better characters in a franchise where characterization has not been terribly strong (especially compared to the comics). I’d certainly be alright with seeing him recast. Hopefully they can make his appearance easier on the actor.

  • http://www.aeryllou.tumblr.com/ Aeryl

    Jennifer Lawrence has already stated that she will be doing a bodysuit, so as to not deal with all that. Thank goodness!

  • Anonymous

    I know, right? He’s already used to the grueling nature of full-body make up prep, he’s a trained contortionist, he does that contortion while in all that make up, and he’s great with quirky, sensitive characters who need to be badass when the time comes.

  • http://www.facebook.com/people/Clay-Christopher-Harris/1600038368 Clay Christopher Harris

    bring back nightcrawler petition officially starts now! cmon people lets do this…..

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