Nicholas Hoult, who starred as Hank McCoy/Beast in several of Fox's X-Men films, has revealed that he is open to playing the character again in a future Marvel Studios project.
"That was a fun evolution and that’s something that I’m always looking for is how a character changes," Hoult said about his interest in returning to the role in a recent interview with Variety. "And I think there’s a lot more to explore with that character. So I’d be interested to know where they see it going next."
The Disney/Fox merger gave Marvel Studios the film rights to many characters it didn't previously own, including the Fantastic Four, Deadpool and the X-Men. It is currently unclear how Marvel intends to integrate these characters with the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. However, a new Deadpool film is currently in the works at Marvel Studios.
X-Men: First Class, which was released in 2011, introduced Hoult as Hank McCoy, a brilliant mutant with abilities similar to those of apes. In a failed attempt to get rid of his mutant traits, Hank accidentally transforms himself into a blue fur-covered "beast." The character had previously been played by Kelsey Grammar.
Hoult later reprise his role as Hank McCoy/Beast in 2014's X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2016's X-Men: Apocalypse and 2019's Dark Phoenix. The actor also had a cameo appearance as Beast in 2018's Deadpool 2.