[GameMaster]

Originally Posted by KillerGremlin

Maybe Nightcrawler, I know he wanted more money. And he wasn't that great an actor, and not that important a character.

Halle Berry originally stated during interviews for X-Men 2 that she would not be returning for her role as Storm in the third film should the character not have a significant presence comparable to the comic book version. However, she decided to reprise the role after Singer left the project and Brett Ratner, who also felt Storm required a larger role, signed on and increased the role.

Alan Cumming was reportedly uncomfortable with the long hours he had to take with the Nightcrawler makeup, but still planned to return for X3. However, the part for Nightcrawler was so minimal, it was not worth it to bring him back and go through the long and costly make up process when he was barely in the film, and the character was cut.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/X-men_3