‘X-Men’ Screenwriter ‘Really Happy’ That Alan Cumming Calls ‘X2’ the ‘Gayest Film I’ve Ever Done,’ Says Ian McKellen ‘Really Recognized’ the Film’s Gay Allegory

“X-Men” screenwriter David Hayter recently told TMZ that he is thrilled by Alan Cumming‘s recent revelation that the 2003 sequel “X2: X-Men United” is the “gayest film” the actor has ever worked on in his career. Cumming starred as the mutant Nightcrawler in the comic book movie. Hayter, who had sole screenwriting credit on the original “X-Men” movie, co-wrote the “X2” script with Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris.

“I was thrilled Alan Cumming called ‘X2’ the gayest film he’d ever worked on. It made me really happy,” Hayter said. “I’m so glad we did right by him. He’s such an icon for gay rights. Ian McKellen also really recognized the allegory of it from a gay perspective”

Hayter added that the team’s goal for the “X-Men” movies in general was “just exclusion for anyone” and to appeal to “anyone who faced hatred or exclusion or judgement and still felt compelled to do the right thing.”

“We had the Holocaust in the opening of [‘X-Men’] and Magneto paraphrases Malcom X at the end. It’s really for anyone who feels exclusion,” Hayter said. “But we had a number of key creatives behind the camera and on camera who were gay, so obviously that element was on our minds. The fact that came through and felt fulfilling for Alan meant a lot to me personally.”

Cumming spoke to Entertainment Weekly earlier this month on the Emmys awards campaign trail for “The Traitors” and said there’s no gayer movie in his filmography than “X2.”

“I think the ‘X-Men’ film I’m in is the gayest film that I’ve ever done, and that’s me saying that,” Cumming told the publication. “It’s got a queer director, lots of queer actors in it. I love the fact that something so mainstream and so in the comic book world is so queer.”

“I think, in a way, those sorts of films really help people understand queerness, because you can address it in an artistic way, and everyone is less scared of the concept,” Cumming added. “It’s an allegory about queerness, about people having these great gifts and really great, powerful things that they have to hide to exist. Queer people understand what that’s all about.”

Cumming did not reprise Nightcrawler in the additional “X-Men” sequels, although rumors have circulated that he’ll be popping up as the mutant in the upcoming Marvel movie “Deadpool and Wolverine.”