The press tour for December’s Avengers: Doomsday is still warming up. However, early indications suggest its enormous cast will face an unusual challenge while promoting the film: Many of the actors don’t really know what it’s about.
Speaking on SiriusXM’s The Morning Mash Up, Nightcrawler actor Alan Cumming admitted that he never completely understood what was happening around his character.
“To be honest, I don’t fully understand the plot,” Cumming said, according to Variety.
Alan Cumming at the BAFTAs – BBC
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He recalled filming one of his relatively rare scenes on a backlot when someone attempted to explain what was happening with the giant robots surrounding Nightcrawler.
Rather than listen to the exposition, Cumming essentially asked for his instructions.
“You know what? Thank you so much, but just tell me where I point my, whatever I point,” he recalled. “And I’ll do that. Really, I just know I’m here to run around.”
Those comments fit uncomfortably well with what other Doomsday cast members have been saying since production began.
Doomsday’s Unusual Production
Directors Joe and Anthony Russo recently confirmed that production began without a finished screenplay.
Joe Russo described the script as a “living organism” and explained that the brothers favor an improvisational approach.
Sebastian Stan offered an even more revealing description of the process.
“Honestly, I have absolutely no idea. Because we didn’t have a script,” the Bucky Barnes actor said when asked what to expect from the finished movie.
Bucky in Marvels Thunderbolts* – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
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“We were just shooting scattered scenes,” he added.
Rebecca Romijn similarly revealed during production that Marvel hadn’t finished writing the screenplay.
Cumming’s latest comments therefore aren’t occurring in isolation. Yet another actor involved in Marvel’s enormous crossover filmed his material without fully understanding how those scenes fit into the finished movie.
That doesn’t necessarily mean Doomsday is in trouble. However, reports have also emerged claiming that the directors are having difficulty “finding the movie in the edit.”
Did Nightcrawler’s Opponent Change?
Cumming also revealed something potentially more intriguing about Florence Pugh’s Yelena Belova. The two actors apparently share a physical scene despite never actually working together.
“I’ve never met you, but you lay on top of me, or your body double did,” Cumming recalled telling Pugh when they finally met at the Emmys.
Pugh responded that she had similarly performed the scene with Cumming’s body double.
That creates an interesting contrast with something Cumming revealed last year.
While discussing his fight choreography, the actor appeared to reveal that Nightcrawler would battle Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards.
Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in Fantastic Four: First Steps – YouTube, Marvel Entertainment
“They said, ‘You’re hitting Pedro Pascal against the head,’ or something,” Cumming said at the time.
Now, however, Cumming is specifically confirming physical interaction with Yelena despite never filming opposite Pugh.
That raises an interesting possibility: Could Nightcrawler’s opponent have changed as the Russos continued shaping the movie?
There isn’t enough evidence to say that happened. Nightcrawler could simply interact with both characters at different points in the film. With body doubles, green screens, reshoots, and an enormous cast, the explanation could be relatively mundane.
Still, the timing is notable.
Is Marvel Putting More Emphasis on Yelena?
Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige recently placed considerable emphasis on Pugh’s character, telling fans, “If you’re a fan of Yelena, wait until Avengers: Doomsday. Yelena plays a big part in that.”
Feige also teased her appearance in Spider-Man: Brand New Day, potentially positioning Yelena as an increasingly important connective character for the MCU.
That invites another question: Is Marvel shifting some of its attention away from Pascal’s Reed Richards as a potential post-Endgame anchor and toward Pugh’s Yelena?
Florence Pugh as Yelena Belova in Avengers: Doomsday – Marvel Entertainment, YouTube
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Pascal was seemingly everywhere in 2025, appearing in multiple television shows and films. Some of that exposure carried into this year with The Mandalorian and Grogu. Several of those projects received mixed or divisive reactions, while Pascal’s outspoken activism has also kept him in the public spotlight beyond his acting roles.
None of that establishes that Marvel has cooled on Pascal. However, Feige’s increasingly vocal emphasis on Yelena makes Pugh’s role in the studio’s future worth watching, particularly if Doomsday gives her substantially more prominence than previously expected.
Again, Cumming’s comments don’t prove such a pivot. Nor do they establish that Reed was replaced by Yelena in any particular sequence.
What they do establish is that even one of the actors involved apparently cannot tell us exactly how all these pieces fit together.
Considering everything else that has emerged about Doomsday’s evolving screenplay and fragmented filming process, perhaps Nightcrawler isn’t the only one waiting for the final edit to find out.
Do you believe that Alan Cumming has no idea what the plot of Avengers: Doomsday is? Sound off and let us know!
