Nicholas Hoult has been on a roll in Hollywood. With starring roles in The Order, Juror #2, The Garfield Movie and Nosferatu, Hoult has showcased his great range and willingness to commit to every role.
That includes Lex Luthor, as Hoult will play Superman's iconic archenemy in James Gunn's upcoming Superman movie. This is a classic portrayal of Luthor as a billionaire genius, jealous of the public worshipping Superman and determined to destroy him solely for his own ego.
It's a huge boost for Hoult to play Lex Luthor, yet it's not his first experience with a comic book role. That would be Hank McCoy, a.k.a. the Beast, who Hoult first played in X-Men: First Class. He was playing the younger version of the character previously portrayed by Kelsey Grammer, who had debuted as the blue-furred mutant genius in X-Men: The Last Stand.
Hoult reprised the role for X-Men: Days of Future Past, which had Grammer popping up in a cameo in the final scene. Hoult also reprised the role for X-Men: Apocalypse, Dark Phoenix and a cameo in Deadpool 2.
Sadly, when Entertainment Weekly talked to Hoult about possibly being contacted by Marvel Studios to play the Beast once more (perhaps in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday, which is bringing Grammer's version of the character back), Hoult flatly said "No." That shouldn't be too much of a shock given Marvel's plans for the Beast.
Why Nicholas Hoult won't return as the Beast in the MCU
The Marvels may have been the Marvel Cinematic Universe's first box office flop, yet it left an impact with its post-credits scene. After being trapped behind a cosmic barrier, Monica Rambeau finds herself in a new world where her dead mother, Maria, is alive and the cosmic-powered Binary.
Meeting them both is a fully CGI Beast, played once more by Grammer. He's set to return with other X-Men actors for Avengers: Doomsday, with Hoult praising Grammer for her performance and offering up his excitement to seeing him reprise the role:
"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. Those were the characters that I got to watch in X-Men movies. I'm excited to see what they do with it. It'll be fun to see how they incorporate those characters into that world."
Hoult's words speak for many fans who are curious as to how the MCU will integrate the X-Men actors. Deadpool & Wolverine showed it could be done by melding alternate realities and likely setting up the Avengers: Secret Wars film. As Hoult was playing the younger Hank McCoy, it would make more sense for Grammer to return as the older Beast with some CGI to smooth over his age.
While fans could hope for some sort of time travel/alternate reality mix to bring Hoult and other First Class actors back, it appears the MCU is set to only use Grammer as the Beast. At least Hoult has another top comic book role to move onto, while fans are as excited as ever to see the X-Men and the MCU come together.
Superman arrives in theaters July 11.