While the seeds had been planted in previous Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) projects likeThe Marvels, finding out how many legacy heroes would be appearing inAvengers: Doomsdaywas still exciting. The viral casting announcement, which consisted of five hours of chairs being put in front of the camera to announce the cast of the upcoming team-up film, was filled with plenty of surprises. Besides confirming that characters fromThunderbolts*andFantastic Four: First Stepswould be inDoomsday, there was also the reveal thatmany of the originalX-Menfrom Bryan Singer and Brett Ratner’s trilogy would return. One such character is Nightcrawler, brought to life byAlan Cumming, who has now expressed his excitement about returning to the role.
While talking to Jenna Bush Hager and Olivia Munn (also anX-Menalum) on the Today show,Cumming briefly touched on his returnas the teleporting mutant. Besides being surprised that he would be playing the role again after more than 20 years, the actor also expressed his immense pleasure in the fact that the makeup and prosthetic process has become much more streamlined. The actor seemed genuinely excited to be a superhero again, despite his age, saying:
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“Isn’t it nuts? I’m excited and amazed. It’s been 23 years since I was a superhero. I’ve had some makeup tests already for the role, but what’s great about it was that before it was about 4 and a half hours to apply it, but now it’s only 90 minutes. Before, all of the tattoos were done by hand. They hadn’t decided on them before we started filming. Now, they just stick onto my face. It’s a game changer. I’m going back to being a 60-year-old superhero, and everyone seems really lovely.”
Several ‘X-Men’ Characters Rely Heavily on Practical Effects
During production ofX2, it was reported that the makeup process for Alan Cumming took around four hours to apply, and nine hours if the actor was shirtless for the scene. The original trilogy ofX-Menfilms isfilled with impressive costumesand makeup, with another notable standout being Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, who had just as intricate a design as Nightcrawler. With Romijn returning forAvengers: Doomsday, it’ll be interesting to see how much the makeup process has also improved for her.
There is alsoKelsey Grammer’s portrayal of Beastin the final film of the original trilogy,X3: The Last Stand, which had Ratner taking over directing duties from Singer, so the latter could directSuperman Returns. The actor was also in extensively detailed (and also blue) makeup and fur, as was his younger counterpart, Nicholas Hoult, in theX-Menprequel films. However, Grammer’s return inThe Marvelswould be done via CGI as opposed to the practical effects Cumming seems to be undergoing forAvengers: Doomsday.
The Russo Brothers have a daunting task ahead of them, juggling four separate superhero teams and introducingRobert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Thankfully, the production is surrounded by talented actors, most of whom have experience with the characters they are playing. Now that filming has commenced, there’s a chance that set photos could soon show Cumming back in the blue makeup as the iconic mutant, though the tight security the Russos have talked about recently could keep stuff like that from leaking online.
Source:Today
Avengers: Doomsday
