First Look at New Nightcrawler in 'X-Men: Apocalypse' Has Been Revealed

Kodi Smit-McPhee (Instagram)

X-Men: Apocalypse begins production on Monday. To mark the occasion, director Bryan Singer posted the first photo of new star Kodi Smit-McPhee as Nightcrawler to Instagram. Soon after, he teleported the image away from the Internet, just as he promised in a tweet that teased, “Catch him before he’s gone.”

Smit-McPhee, an 18-year-old Australian who stars alongside X-Men cast mate Michael Fassbender in the new film Slow West, also posted a photo of himself as the nerdy blue mutant (seen above) — only to pull it as well.

Smit-McPhee out of makeup (Getty)

Nightcrawler, a character introduced to the X-Men comics in 1975, is a German mutant named Kurt Wagner. He grew up as an acrobat in the circus, and has ultrafast agility, adhesive appendages and the power to self-teleport. An older version of the character was played by Alan Cumming in 2003′s X2: X-Men United.

In that film, Nightcrawler was not only much older, but also was dressed like a Bavarian commoner, reflecting his humble roots. Now, he’s dressed like a kid from the ‘80s — when the film is set — with a much more modern jacket and corduroy pants. It is, in effect, a more similar look to the superhero-style spandex suit that he is often seen wearing in the comics.

Alan Cumming in ‘X2′ (Everett Collection)

Singer has relied heavily on Twitter and Instagram to make announcements about the upcoming film, which is the third following 2011′s X-Men: First Class in 2011 and last year’s Days of Future Past to feature younger versions of familiar characters like Mystique, Magneto, and Professor X.

The comic-book version of Nightcrawler (Marvel)

In January, the director announced that Tye Sheridan, Sophie Turner and Alexandra Shipp had been cast as Cyclops, Jean Grey, and Storm, respectively. February saw Singer’s introduction of Lana Condor as Jubilee; and earlier this month, Singer revealed that Olivia Munn had joined the crew as Psylocke.

X-Men: Apocalypse, which features Inside Llewyn Davis and Star Wars: The Force Awakens star Oscar Isaac as the titular villain, is due to hit theaters on May 27, 2016.