June 21, 2005

Alan Cumming Not Returning For X3

By Larry Carroll (MTV.com)

For his latest adventure, blue-skinned superhero Nightcrawler has once again vanished into nothingness -- however, this time he won't be reappearing.

Actor Alan Cumming has announced via his website that he will not be participating in the third X-Men movie, a decision that would seem to signal at least the temporary shelving of arguably the most popular character in 2003's X2.

Referring to Cumming as an "Ex X Man!!," the stage-trained actor's site says, "Alan will NOT be appearing in X3. Fox has not picked up his option to play Nightcrawler for a second movie."

A publicist for Cumming confirmed the announcement's validity, as well as the news that Cumming will not be traveling to Vancouver, British Columbia, this summer to film X-Men 3 alongside such returning stars as Hugh Jackman, Halle Berry and Patrick Stewart. The posting under the actor's "Up and Cumming" movie page comes as a shock after the star's insistence that he would be in X3 as recently as February's press tour for Son Of The Mask; it may come as a similar surprise to new X3 director Brett Ratner, who told MTV News just two weeks ago that "everybody" would be returning.

Originally introduced in 1974 as part of a Marvel Comics effort to form a team of international superheroes, Nightcrawler is the alias for Kurt Wagner, a German mutant with the ability to transport himself instantaneously. Although long considered to be one of the more popular members of the X-Men clan, the three-fingered creature was left out of the first film, creating a fan desire eventually satiated by Cumming's casting in the sequel.

According to other reports on the actor's site, the eccentric star will be filling his newly emptied schedule by guest-starring on six episodes of the TV show The L Word and promoting his new cologne Cumming: The Fragrance. The fans of the X-Men movies, meanwhile, might want to purchase a few bottles to help hide the stench of a third movie without Cumming's charismatic teleporter.