Alan Cumming has finished filming “Avengers: Doomsday” and still cannot explain what it is about. The actor, returning as the teleporting mutant Nightcrawler, told SiriusXM last week, “To be honest, I don’t fully understand the plot.” Marvel did not let him read the full screenplay.
Cumming recalled one of the rare scenes shot on a studio backlot instead of in front of a blue screen. A crew member started describing what giant robots were doing around him. Cumming stopped the explanation and asked only where to point. He said he simply knows he is there to run around.
He also described meeting Florence Pugh at the Emmys. The two share a scene, yet each had worked only opposite the other’s body double. His prosthetic makeup has improved with time. Application once took about four and a half hours and now takes 90 minutes, a change Cumming called a game changer.
Cumming first played Nightcrawler in “X2: X-Men United” and appeared in no other film of the series, so “Doomsday” gives him a second turn at the role. Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn and James Marsden also return from the X-Men films.
The confusion fits a production wrapped in secrecy. Marvel’s official description says the film follows heroes from three universes on a deadly collision course toward an existential threat. Robert Downey Jr. plays the villain, Victor von Doom, and the Russo brothers direct. Kevin Feige has confirmed that a single character anchors the story, and Joe Russo has said the film will feel unlike any previous MCU release.
Some entertainment outlets read the remarks as a familiar pattern rather than a warning sign. One site noted that Cumming has broken Marvel’s embargo before and joked that the project looks like something he did for the stories. The studio has said nothing publicly about his comments.
Marvel is meanwhile building anticipation through other channels. The theatrical rerelease “Avengers: Endgame Encore” earned $86 million worldwide. That rerelease has also carried a few hints about the new film.
“Avengers: Doomsday” opens in theaters December 18.
