We assumed Kelsey Grammar would be staying on as the MCU's Hank McCoy after his post-credits scene cameo in The Marvels, but it seems Marvel Studios is planning to cast a new actor as Beast in the upcoming X-Men reboot.
According to The Hot Mic's Jeff Sneider, Jesse Plemons (Civil War, Zero Day, Breaking Bad) is in consideration to play Beast in the movie. We're not sure if he's actually met with Marvel about the role or is simply a person of interest, but we can see quite a lot of fans getting behind this particular rumor.
Plemons is just the latest actor to be mentioned in connection with one of the main mutant roles in the film. Harris Dickinson (Babygirl, The Iron Claw, Triangle of Sadness) and Jack Champion (Avatar, Scream 6) are reportedly being eyed to play Cyclops, with Stranger Things alum Sadie Sink a likely pick for Jean Grey. We've also heard that The Bear's Ayo Edebiri and DeWanda Wise are on the studio's radar to play Storm. Kitty Pryde and Gambit are also expected to be on the team.
More recently, Hunter Schafer (Cuckoo, Euphoria) has been rumored to be up for Mystique, Julia Butters (The Gray Man, The Fablemans) is said to be in talks to play Pryde, and Margaret Qualley might be on the studio's radar for Rogue.
Last month, we reported on a slightly more out-there rumor that Denzel Washington might be set to play the villain - possibly Magneto.
No director is attached (that we know of), but the amount of casting rumors from various reliable sources doing the rounds would seem to indicate that the studio is quietly assembling its new line-up.
Progress is being clearly made on introducing the Children of the Atom to the MCU, and Marvel Studios' Head of Streaming Brad Winderbaum recently confirmed that the X-Men movie is in active development, while also responding to (well, more side-stepping) a question about that recent X Academy/Academy X Disney+ series rumor.
"I think anybody could say anything online, and it hits the rumor mill and people get excited," Winderbaum tells Screen Rant. "Right now, we are still working on X-Men 97 season 2. It's coming together amazingly, and the scripts for season 3 are insane. That is certainly scratching the X-Men itch for me on television. And there is an X-Men feature in development right now, so that is the focus of X-Men currently."
How would you feel about Plemons playing Beast in the X-Men reboot? Would you be disappointed if Grammar didn't reprise the role? Let us know in the comments section down below.