We’re less than two weeks away from seeing Nicholas Hoult play Lex Luthor in James Gunn’s Superman, but anyone familiar with the actor knows this isn’t his first time acting in the superhero genre. He previously starred as Hank McCoy, a.k.a. Beast, in the First Class-era X-Men movies from 2011 to 2019, succeeding Kelsey Grammer in the role. Grammer is now set to play Beast again in next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, and Hoult shared his thoughts about the return and if he was ever called about appearing in this or any of the other upcoming Marvel movies.
Nicholas Hoult’s Excited To See Kelsey Grammer And More In Avengers: Doomsday
Back in March, Marvel unveiled the Avengers: Doomsday cast with a livestream that showed off the names of the participating actors on director’s chairs. Among the lineup was Patrick Stewart as Professor X, Ian McKellen as Magneto, Rebecca Romijn as Mystique, Alan Cumming as Nightcrawler and James Marsden as Cylcops, along with Channing Tatum reprising Gambit following his debut in Deadpool & Wolverine. Nicholas Hoult shared his reaction to the cast reveal as follows:
Kelsey was a great Beast. He was the Beast I saw when I was a kid, along with the other actors that they’re bringing back, Patrick and Ian and James and all them.
Kelsey Grammer appeared as Beast in X-Men: The Last Stand, with the character being depicted as the Secretary of Mutant Affairs. He later cameoed in X-Men: Days of Future Past, but that was the extent of his involvement with the franchise when 20th Century Fox had the film rights. Hoult continued to EW:
surprise cameo as Beast in The Marvels’ end-credits scene two years ago. However, this is a different Beast than the one he previously played, with this version being an entirely CGI creation who lives in the same universe as the Maria Rambeau variant who goes by Binary. It remains to be seen if the Beast in Doomsday will be that version or yet another doppelgänger.
Did Marvel Call Nicholas Hoult About Avengers: Doomsday?
So Beast fans can look forward to the blue-furred mutant jumping back into action at the end of next year, but has Nicholas Hoult ever had discussions with Marvel Studios about reprising the character. He gave a simple, one-word response: