Kodi Smit-McPhee Talks Nightcrawler In X-Men: Apocalypse

Kodi Smit-McPhee (Dawn of the Planets of the Apes), 18, spoke about his Nightcrawler role in Bryan Singer's X-Men: Apocalypse while promoting his upcoming western Slow West.

Kodi will be the second actor to bring the demonic-looking mutant with indigo-colored skin to life on the big screen. The first was Alan Cumming (The Good Wife) in X2: X-Men United. He delivered the film's standout scene when he teleported through the walls of the White House in an attempt to assassinate the President of the United States of America.

Kodi will be playing a younger version of Nightcrawler but he seems unsure if his portrayal will be influenced by Cumming's. "I don't try to avoid it, and I don't try to keep it in mind. I just let things come naturally," Kodi told Super Hero Hype. "Because it is the Marvel Universe and X-Men and there are a lot of people expecting a lot of things, I did a huge amount of research on anyone who has portrayed it and even in the comics and the cartoons and live action. I just followed Nightcrawler's story. I feel very honored and grateful to be expressing that now. I can't wait."

Kodi even relayed Singer's reason for Nightcrawler not appearing in the previous X-Men film, Days of Future Past. "I think Bryan said that he thought that it just wasn't the right time because there were already so many mutants in it and after reading the script now, I can see what they're doing," Kodi explained. "They have the ability to bring these younger characters in now, so I think a lot of the people who know the traditional origins of where this came from will be very happy."

X-Men: Apocalypse will arrive in theaters May 27, 2016.