Superhero movies are everywhere. Between the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the DC Extended Universe, and Fox's X-Men Universe, you can't turn a corner without running into another hero in tights trying to save the world. As such, prominent actors are eager to have their own signature hero, and all of the money and opportunities that being in the canon award you. And then there's the X-Men franchise, which has a habit of recasting already established characters, especially during the First Class trilogy. But what happens to the actors who are no longer the current versions of the X-Men?
Kelsey Grammer recently spoke to the good folks at IGN while appearing at this weekends' New York Comic Con. When asked if the Frasier and Cheers actor had any interest in returning to the role of Beast/Hank McCoy in a future X-Men movie, he answered with a resounding:
I would love to do another one because that character's great.
There we go. Grown up version of Beast is ready for another round of flips, punches, and blue fur. I wonder what Nicholas Hoult thinks of this?
Kelsey Grammer's X-Men history is somewhat tragic. Beast made his debut in X-Men: The Last Stand, which has widely been considered the worst movie in the franchise. Despite his spot on casting (seriously, Frasier basically IS Hank McCoy), the movie was overall a big old mess. Tons of main characters were killed, Rogue disappeared, and the Phoenix story was totally ruined. And while it looked like the franchise might be near dead, First Class was released to positive reception and a new trilogy was created. This one with a brand new Beast who is one of the main characters of the three films.
But Kelsey Grammer's Beast wasn't completely unseen after The Last Stand. Indeed, he had a cameo at the end of X-Men: Days of Future Past, where Wolverine wakes up to discover that he did in fact save the world. We got cameos from all of the original cast, including Grammer as the big blue guy. But it turns out that Grammer was actually responsible for Beast's inclusion in this scene, as he asked director Bryan Singer if he could come back. He told IGN:
I guess it's my ego was kind of hurt that they just decided to go back in time all of a sudden and Kelsey Grammer wasn't Beast. It really pissed me off. I did have a chance to talk to Bryan (Singer) when I heard there was this cameo, basically. It was back in the time where I had been in X-Men 3. So I was delighted when he said 'Yeah, what the hell?!'
Now that's how you fight for your role. While Nicholas Hoult has done a great job as Hank McCoy in the last three movies, Kelsey Grammer won't be ignored.
Are you ready to go back with the original cast of X-Men, or should they just continue with the current timeline? Sound off in the comments below.
