Maybe you saw some of many released stills from X-Men: Days of Future Past and noticed that Hank McCoy--also known as Beast--is looking surprisingly blue hairless? Yeah, us too. Well, actor Nicholas Hoult, who played Beast in X-Men: First Class and reprises the role in its fast-approaching sequel, has cleared up this query in a new interview.
JoBlo spoke with Hoult about what's it like to play a man/mutant/beast, and he shared a bit of information about what's happened between X-Men: First Class and X-Men: Days of Future Past. He explains:
"What's happened up to this point is between the time of the last movie and this movie my character has created a serum which basically controls his mutation so his appearance is normal as long as he doesn’t get worked up. Any animal instinct or urges, that kind of brings him out. So yeah, he changes into Beast a few times throughout the story and they've done some great action sequences with him this time, particularly in the mansion flying around on these chandeliers and stuff. "
So basically Beast has gone a bit Hulk.
Fans of the X-Men franchise will remember that Beast has been struggling with accepting his mutant identity for a while. First introduced in this film series in 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand, Beast was played by Kelsey Grammer. Here he's a grown man, and a proud advocate for Mutants in America, serving in the President's cabinet as Secretary of Mutant Affairs. While he is momentarily entranced by the possibilities of a "cure" to mutations, he resigns his post when the government decides to weaponize this cure.
However, in the 2011 prequel X-Men: First Class, we're introduced to a younger, less blue and hairy beast (Hoult). He has beastly big feet, but little else. But when he dabbles in a cure for his condition using samples of Mystique's DNA, it essentially kicks his mutation up a notch, covering him in the hair and blue hue he's known for.
With this as backstory, the idea that McCoy would spend time on a cure is certainly in character. Plus, it's probably a help at keeping X-Men: Days of Future Past's budget down a bit. Of course, we know that by the time 2009 rolls around McCoy's will be Beast fulltime. What's unknown for now is whether the cementing of this form will unfold in the next film. Or if perhaps this time-traveling tale will create a completely alternate future altogether. Notably, Grammer is one of the few cast members from the previous X-Men movies who is not known to be popping up in this new adventure.
X-Men: Days of Future Past will open May 23rd 2014.
