Here’s Nightcrawler From X-Men Apocalypse

Here’s a first look at young Kurt Wagner from X-Men Apocalypse.

This week has seen more rumblings from X-Men Apocalypse, Bryan Singer’s sequel which rumor has it may be the final film of his X-continuity.  One of the biggest reveals is a first look at Nightcrawler as played by Kodi Smit-McPhee.

And he looks… okay?

Being honest, this is about what I’d expect from a franchise whose visual aesthetic has never really been something write home about.  There’s been some backlash against the new Nightcrawler online (obvs), but based exclusively on looks, I prefer this guy to the design used for Alan Cummings’ character in X2.

I’ll wait to pass final judgement until we see how the new Nightcrawler moves and sounds (actors affecting fake European accents is a dangerous game, as the performance by Aaron Taylor-Johnson in Age of Ultron keenly reminded me this week).

More importantly, I’ll wait until I see the movie and how the script handles Kurt as a character.  Decent character work has been the saving grace of the X-Men movies worth saving, and I hope that Apocalypse will count among those movies, especially if it really will be the swan song of this entire iteration of the mutants’ saga.