Summary
Marvelactor Kelsey Grammer reminisces about being Beast’s recasting in theX-Menmovie franchise, where Nicholas Hoult replaced him as Hank McCoy, starting inX-Men: First Class. Hank McCoy a.k.a. Beast made his live-action debut inX-Men: The Last Stand. Four years later, a younger version of the mutant was shown as a founding member of Charles Xavier’s team inX-Men: First Class.Fox’sX-Menfranchisemoved forward with this version of Beast, who also appeared inX-Men: Days of Future Past,X-Men: Apocalypse, andDark Phoenix.
In an episode ofTHR’sFull Comedy Actor Roundtable, Beast’s first live-action actor Kelsey Grammer reveals his reaction to Beast’s recasting between the release ofX-Men: The Last StandandX-Men: First Class. According to Grammer, one of"the two most challenging things"he’s ever heard is the news thattheX-Menfranchise was going to go back in time, which he understood entailed a younger actor getting to play Beast instead of him. Grammer’s comments can be appreciated at the 27' minute mark in the video below:
“After I just played Beast - my days in Marvel - they came and said, ‘we have the most wonderful next film planned (…) We’re gonna go back in time.’ And so I suddenly have this sinking feeling of ‘Oh so, I won’t be in it, so my performance as Beast will not be in it. That’s what you’re telling me’. Sure enough, it went back in time… I was gone!”
How Kelsey Grammer’s Beast Was Redeemed In The MCU After His Fox Recast
The Marvels' Post-Credits Scene Officially Added Kelsey Grammer’s Beast To The MCU
Kelsey Grammer only had one shot at playing Beast in Fox’sX-Menfranchise inX-Men: The Last Stand, or at least that was the case until 2023’sThe Marvels, which brought Kelsey Grammer’s Beast back 16 years after Hank McCoy’s live-action debut. InThe Marvels' post-credits scene, Kelsey Grammer’s Beast welcomes Monica Rambeau to his universe and explains to her that her travel between realities was theoretically impossible. Thanks to this scene,Kelsey Grammer’s Beast has officially joined the MCU, while Nicholas Hoult’s hasn’t returned.
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It’s important to point out thatKelsey Grammer’s Beast is a new variant inThe Marvels' post-credits. Grammer voiced the mutant, but didn’t wear the heavy makeup and hair prosthetics that his previous Beast portrayal required inX-Men: The Last Stand. This version of Beast is visually similar toX-Men ‘97’s Beast, with shorter and spikier hair, as well as protruding fangs and a more science-leaning role in the X-Men team rather than an independent political career.
Whether Beast’s universe is the result of Wolverine’s time travel mission fromX-Men: Days of Future Pastor a new reality altogether is yet to be confirmed. In this timeline, Beast is acquainted witha version of Maria Rambeau who became Binary— one of the identities Carol Danvers adopted in the comics. Given that mutants seemed to be the only superheroes on Earth throughout Fox’sX-Menmovie franchise, Kelsey Grammer’s new Beast is more likely to belong to a universe where the X-Men coexist with more alternate versions of the Avengers.
