Alan Cumming’s planned one-night guest-hosting stint on Jimmy Kimmel Live! is starting to make a lot more sense now that we know who his guests will be: the stars of Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps—Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Cumming, who’s never appeared on Kimmel (let alone hosted), is no stranger to the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The Tony-winning actor is a Marvel alum himself—he’ll be reprising his role as Kurt Wagner, a.k.a. Nightcrawler, in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday. It marks his return to the teleporting mutant for the first time since 2003’s X2: X-Men United.
He’s reportedly been deep into fight choreography training for the new film—telling one reporter that he hits Pascal’s Mister Fantastic on the head during one particularly intense scene.
That revelation fueled fan speculation online, with many wondering whether the Nightcrawler–Mister Fantastic clash hints at deeper tensions between the X-Men and the Fantastic Four—a rivalry rooted in the comics and one that could shape the dramatic stakes of Marvel’s entire Phase Six.
Their joint appearance on Monday night’s episode will no doubt be closely watched for clues.
The new Fantastic Four lineup’s visit continues a long-running tradition of Marvel ensemble episodes on the Disney-owned late-night talk show. From Avengers: Endgame to Deadpool & Wolverine and Thunderbolts, Kimmel has become Marvel’s go-to late-night launchpad. (The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters next Friday, July 25th.)
As for Cumming’s musical guest Monday, so far as we know Zac Brown Band doesn’t have a Marvel connection (yet), but the band has been in the news this week after they announced they’ll be playing a limited residency at the Sphere in Las Vegas this December. The four-show engagement will coincide with the release of their seventh studio album, Love & Fear.
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