No Nightcrawler? Alan Cumming Teleports Out of New ‘X-Men,’ but See Who’s Coming Back

Will Kurt Wagner, aka Nightcrawler, teleport himself to the set of "X-Men: Days of Future Past"? While the answer remained as elusive as the wily mutant himself over the past few months, current evidence unfortunately leans toward the negative.

It's been mutant mania as several "X-Men" movie alums have been signing on for director Bryan Singer's return to the franchise, which merges the worlds of the original "X-Men" trilogy and 2011's reboot/prequel, "X-Men: First Class." However, Alan Cumming, who played the scene-stealing Nightcrawler in "X2" (2003), won't be coming back for another semester at Xavier's School for Gifted Youngsters.

James McAvoy, who plays the younger version of Professor Charles Xavier, mentioned Cumming's name as he rattled off a list of cast members during an interview with Heat Radio, though ComingSoon.net has since confirmed that we won't be seeing him in "Days of Future Past." Cumming himself also denied any involvement in a recent interview with Sirius XM.

"No, they haven't [asked me to return]," said Cumming. "I know the one that's coming up shoots this spring, but I wouldn't be available anyways."

Bryan Singer has taken to Twitter to announce a lot of the casting news on the new "X-Men" film, though he's been quiet regarding anything involving Cumming and/or Nightcrawler. He was also rather coy about the subject when talking with HuffPo Entertainment last month.

"I don't know. We'll see. You know ... we'll see," Singer said when asked about Cumming's involvement. "I don't want to ... sometimes you don't want to say 'yes' or 'no' to something that may not be a 'yes' or a 'no,' or anything. I haven't decided yet, a few things. I'm still, you know -- there are certain aspects of the script that I'm still toying with."

Alan Cumming played Nightcrawler, the blue-skinned, demonic-looking, God-fearing German teleporter, only in "X2," and proved to be one of the best things about the first "X-Men" sequel. However, he apparently hated the extensive makeup process, which may have been part of the reason why he didn't reprise the role in the Brett Ratner-directed "X-Men: The Last Stand" (2006).

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" isn't quite the uber-reunion it may appear to be at first glance, as there are actually several other series alums who don't seem to be involved. Rebecca Romijn, last seen as a "cured" Raven Darkholme in "The Last Stand," hasn't been mentioned (probably because the producers feel that having Jennifer Lawrence in the part is more than enough), and James Marsden, whose Scott Summers/Cyclops was last seen getting killed in "The Last Stand," currently isn't on the roster.

Other missing mutants include Aaron Stanford's villainous John Allerdyce/Pyro, Vinnie Jones' rampaging Cain Marko/Juggernaut, Kelsey Grammer's rendition of Hank McCoy/Beast (played by Nicholas Hoult in "First Class"), Daniel Cudmore's Peter Rasputin/Colossus (no Fastball Special with Wolverine, then), Ben Foster's Warren Worthington/Angel, Ray Park's Mortimer Toynbee/Toad (missing since the first "X-Men") and pretty much everyone who starred with Hugh Jackman in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine" ... which is probably a good thing.

Oh, and has anyone heard anything about Famke Janssen coming back as Jean Grey/Phoenix? That's kind of a big one.

The current confirmed returning lineup for "X-Men: Days of Future Past" is as follows:

Hugh Jackman as Logan/Wolverine
Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy as Charles Xavier/Professor X
Ian McKellen and Michael Fassbender as Erik Lehnsherr/Magneto
Halle Berry as Ororo Munroe/Storm
Ellen Page as Kitty Pryde/Shadowcat
Shawn Ashmore as Bobby Drake/Iceman
Anna Paquin as Marie/Rogue
Jennifer Lawrence as Raven Darkholme/Mystique
Nicholas Hoult as Hank McCoy/Beast

"X-Men: Days of Future Past" will open July 18, 2014.