‘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
variety.comZack Sharf Digital News Director “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 was 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 Malcolm 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.
