Director Bryan Singer has been ahead of the curve when it comes to promoting his X-Men films. His social media onslaught actually began during pre-production for X-Men: Days of Future Past, when he leaked photos of Cerebro, new characters, and even the first look of a live-action Sentinel. During pre-production for X-Men: Apocalypse, he has personally pulled the curtain back and has been rewarding faithful fans of the franchise with casting reveals of many popular characters such as Jubiliee, Angel (Ben Hardy), and Psylocke (Olivia Munn).
In February, there was almost universal applause when Singer announced via his Instagram account that dynamic young actor Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planet of the Apes), had secured the role of young Kurt Wagner, also known as Nightcrawler. The role was originally played by Alan Cumming in X2: X-Men United. However, X-Men: Apocalypse takes place around twenty years earlier, so we can expect a much livelier character. Smit-McPhee explains what we can anticipate from the upcoming sequel.
“I think I’m really going to make it my own because it is kind of going back and its seeing the younger character. I realize the Nightcrawler that is portrayed in ‘X2? is one that has been through quite a bit more and has really embraced the superhero part of him – a kind of violent part. Whereas I think what they’re trying to show here is the more vulnerable Nightcrawler and the one we all kind of related to in the comics. It’s really the fun, happy, swashbuckling Nightcrawler that we all love, so I really can’t wait to portray that. He’s just very vulnerable and truthful, and grounded in his faith. I think it’s something new though that we’ll see. But as I said, all of the traditional things that we want in it – it’s still there. Hint, hint.”
Nightcrawler had one of the signature sequences in the entire X-Men film series. Nightcrawler’s assault on the White House is still looked at as one of the best action set pieces. While Cumming’s performance as Nightcrawler had a lot of the character’s familiar characteristics such as his religiousness, blue skin, and teleportation abilities, he was an older and in a more tortured place in his life. According to Smit-McPhee, it sounds like we will be getting to see the adventure-seeking swashbuckler in X-Men: Apocalypse, who has won the hearts of many fans.
However, the largest omission from the character’s previous appearance in the franchise, is where he came from. He is the son of Mystique and Azrael (the red-skinned teleporter from X-Men: First Class), but his true origin wasn’t even hinted at in X2. There also was no mention of a romantic link between the two parents in First Class. In Days of Future Past, it was revealed that Azazael had been killed and experimented on by Bolivar Trask (Peter Dinklage) within the ten year period between films.
This leaves a huge time period for writer Simon Kinberg to craft an origin story for the mutant. In the comics, Mystique gives up Nightcrawler at birth, it appears that Singer may be adapting the “traditional” origin of the character. It has been widely rumored that this installment would be the most important film of the series for Mystique. Discovering a lost child could be a great emotional arc for Jennifer Lawrence to explore in the midst of all the apocalyptic action.
Visually this may be the most comic book accurate portrayal of Nightcrawler yet. While he isn’t wearing a jumpsuit, his jacket and attire reflect the color scheme found in the pages of Marvel Comics. His clothing also fits in perfectly with the early 80’s time period that the movie takes place in. Nightcrawler is one of the most brave and daring X-Men members, who typically is able to go into battle with a devilish smile. At the same time, he a has strong religious core. This will be a younger version of the character, so it is unknown how much that will play into the characterization, or if the events of X-Men: Apocalypse is what strengthens his beliefs. In X2, Cumming was able to explore his religious side, however by that age he had gone through literal torture and was clearly damaged from his past experiences. Smit-McPhee is an extremely gifted actor and should be able to bring to life some of Nightcrawler’s formative moments. Shooting began on the upcoming sequel today, so keep checking back for the latest X-Men: Apocalypse news!
X-Men: Apocalypse opens in theaters May 27th, 2016.
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Source: CBM, Den of Geek