To call Avengers: Doomsday a moment in time a year before its release might seem premature, but there is no doubt about it that the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe movie has all the potential to be the biggest talking point in the entertainment world in 2026. And why wouldn't it be? All four of the previous Avengers movies have accomplished that feat, so you can rest assured this one stands every chance to.
Much like the double header of Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, Doomsday and Secret Wars promise to be game-changing events for the MCU as they will bring about the close of the franchise's ongoing Multiverse Saga. Better yet, they will be bringing in the Avengers, the X-Men, and the Fantastic Four (whose arrival in the MCU is imminent already) to make it happen. You know you were there to see the full cast list revealed in that chair-filled livestream!
It turns out that, however, that some of these returnees will have more than just cameos, as one of the returning X-Men stars may just have a pretty major role.
Kelsey Grammer's Beast will reportedly have a big role in Avengers: Doomsday
Kelsey Grammer is returning to the role of Beast in Avengers: Doomsday and it sounds like he might play an intricate part. According to prolific industry insider Daniel Richtman, Beast will play " a pretty big role" in the upcoming movie. That potentially confirms a multitude of theories about the character's role. After all, of all the returning X-Men stars, his comeback is perhaps the least surprising.
Grammer is in a rare class as he is one of the few X-Men stars to have already portrayed Hank McCoy in the MCU. Remember, he appeared in a post-credits scene in The Marvels back in 2023, showing up in what appeared to be the lab in the X-Men Mansion as he studied Monica Rambeau - who accidentally arrived on his world after saving her own in the culmination of that movie.
Surprising or not, you know you lost your mind when you saw the Frasier star's name pop up in the livestream full of set chairs. Honestly, it was unexpected in the moment (even if it was likely given his importance to the multiversal saga after The Marvels' post-credits scene) and that's part of what made the whole livestream so special; you literally didn't know whose name could show up next.
Grammer first portrayed the role in Fox's X-Men movie series, first appearing in 2005's X-Men: The Last Stand before returning in 2014's Days of Future Past. Nicholas Hoult took the role over for the prequel movies, portraying a much younger version of the character. Grammer then surprised us all with that unexpected return as an alternate version of Beast in The Marvels.
As Grammer has now portrayed two different versions of Beast, it's going to be interesting to see which version he plays in Avengers: Doomsday. The likely option says it will be the newer, MCU one that appeared in The Marvels given how important that post-credits scene is the to the Multiverse Saga (and his X-Men costars Hugh Jackman and Patrick Stewart have both played different versions on their MCU appearances thus far), but with this being a multiversal movie, we wouldn't rule out a cameo from his X-Men version, too.
Regardless of which version he plays, we're all just happy to see Beast back.
Avengers: Doomsday arrives in movie theaters on May 1, 2026.