Some late night casting news has just broke courtesy ofBryan Singer. The director welcomed young actorKodi Smit-McPheeto theX-Men: Apocalypsecast courtesy of his personalInstagram. Kodi Smit-McPhee is confirmed to be taking on the role of Kurt Wagner, otherwise known as Nightcrawler, in this latest Mutant adventure.
Introduced in Giant-Size X-Men #1 way back in 1975, Nightcrawler has superhuman agility, can teleport, and is endowed with adhesive hands and feet. His physical appearance includes dark blue skin which allows him to become nearly invisible in shadows, two-toed feet and three-fingered hands, yellow eyes, pointed ears and a prehensile tail. In Nightcrawler’s earlier comic book appearances he is seen as a happy-go-lucky practical joker, and is a fan of swashbuckling adventures. Nightcrawler is also a Catholic, and while this is not emphasized as much in his earlier comic book appearances, in later depictions Nightcrawler is more vocal about his faith. Though he was introduced in 1975, he became quite popular in the mid-80s run of X-Men comics, the time period in which most ofX-Men: Apocalypseis set to take place.
Kurt’s mother and father are shape-shifting Mystique and the demonic warlord Azazel, two characters that were featuredX-Men: First Class.Jennifer Lawrenceis expected to reprise her role as Mystique inX-Men: Apocalypse. While Azazel, played byJason Flemyng, survivedX-Men: First Classand joined Magneto’s Brotherhood of Mutants, he was not seen inX-Men: Days of Future Past. Though, it is revealed in that sequel that Azazel was among the mutants experimented on and killed by Bolivar Trask. With the timelines altered, it isn’t known how Nightcrawler’s origins will be changed inX-Men: Apocalypse, or if he will still be the son of both Mystique and Azazel, who could of had an affair sometime between the events depicted inX-Men: First ClassandX-Men: Apocalypse.
Nightcrawler was first introduced on the big screen inX2: X-Men Unitedand was played byAlan Cumming.X-Men: Apocalypsewill serve as only the second time the character has appeared in a feature film. Kodi Smit-McPhee is known for his roles inDawn of the Planet of the Apesand the vampire remakeLet Me In.
