Alan Cumming says he is “absolutely terrified” to say anything about Avengers: Doomsday, and the reason is pretty simple. He has no idea what the movie is about.
Cumming returns as Nightcrawler 23 years after X2: X-Men United. He talked Doomsday in a new SiriusXM interview while promoting The Traitors: New Blood on NBC and Peacock.
The actor also revealed he never actually filmed with Florence Pugh, even though their characters share a scene.
“I Don’t Fully Understand The Plot”
Asked about keeping Marvel’s secrets, Cumming admitted he couldn’t spoil the movie if he wanted to.
“In terms of the Avengers, I’m just absolutely terrified to say anything, because, to be honest, I don’t fully understand the plot,” he said. “Does anybody?”
It’s not for lack of anyone trying to explain it. Cumming said he waved off a crew member who started walking him through a scene on the back lot.
“There was a bit where we’re shooting a scene, and it was one of the rare scenes when I was actually on the back lot and not in front of a blue screen, and this man came and said, ‘So, right now, Alan, these giant robots are blah blah,’ and started to tell me the thing,” he said.
Cumming continued, “And I was like, ‘You know what? Thank you so much, but just tell me where I point, and I’ll go do that. I just know I’m here to run around.'”
The giant robots would be the Sentinels, which Marvel already showed standing with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in its anti-piracy PSA following the Doomsday leaks.
Cumming Never Filmed With Florence Pugh
Cumming said he ran into Pugh at the Emmys and realized the two had never met, even though their characters end up on top of each other in Doomsday. Body doubles shot it.
“I saw Florence Pugh yesterday at the Emmys, and I said, ‘Gosh, it’s so funny. I’ve never met you, but you lay on top of me. Or your body double did,'” he said.
According to Cumming, Pugh replied, “I lay on top of you as well, but it was your body double.”
So while Nightcrawler and Yelena Belova get tangled together at some point in the movie, the two actors were never on set together for it. Pugh returns as Yelena following Thunderbolts.
Marvel Never Told Him What He Can Say
Cumming also said Marvel has actors sign NDAs but never spells out what they are allowed to talk about.
“You have to have an NDA and stuff like that, but they don’t really tell you what,” he said. “It’s sort of weird that you don’t really know what you’re allowed to say and what you’re not.”
“I accidentally did say something that was misconstrued, actually, because you’re just talking about your experience of having done it,” Cumming continued. “There’s not really anyone to coach you on what you’re allowed to say.”
That sounds like a nod to last year, when Cumming revealed he was learning a fight where he hits Pedro Pascal on the head, which confirmed the X-Men battle the Fantastic Four in the movie.
Release Info
Directed by Joe and Anthony Russo, Avengers: Doomsday opens in theaters on December 18, 2026, with Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom. Avengers: Secret Wars follows on December 17, 2027.
Follow all of our coverage at the Avengers: Doomsday hub.
