Beast’s MCU Return Fixes A Distracting Issue From 4 X-Men Movies

Beast’s introduction into the Marvel Cinematic Universe is exciting for numerous reasons, but one in particular addresses a problem with the Fox’s X-Men franchise. Introducing existing characters into the MCU timeline has allowed for previous issues to be corrected for the MCU’s future. These have included a particularly distracting issue from the X-Men movies.

Fox’s X-Men universe began with a trilogy of movies before producing a series of loose prequels, beginning with X-Men: First Class. These films featured fresh designs for some returning characters, including Beast. Beast had previously appeared in X-Men: The Last Stand, portrayed perfectly by Kelsey Grammer. In the prequels, Beast was portrayed by Nicholas Hoult, but his design proved to be a point of contention among audiences. With Beast’s introduction into the MCU in The Marvels’ post-credits scene, this has been rectified.

The MCU’s Beast design is substantially more effective and faithful than the design from Fox X-Men prequels. The MCU’s Beast looks incredibly similar to the character’s classic design, with more ape-like features. The design for Nicholas Hoult’s Beast in First Class was almost unrecognizable, looking more like a big cat than the famed mutant hero’s traditional appearance. This proved distracting for many audiences, who were more bewildered by his appearance than they were delighted. This was particularly evident in Beast’s slim face and snout design, which looked exactly like a cat and felt inconsistent with the source material.

The subsequent X-Men movies lessened the cat-like features, but in general, maintained this somewhat incongruous design. On the other hand, the design for Kelsey Grammer’s live-action Beast from The Last Stand was impressive in its day, drawing out certain features while retaining Grammer’s appearance. However, considering the technological advances that have occurred since, the MCU is in a position to faithfully adapt Marvel Comics’ Beast design using CGI. This worked well for The Marvels, depicting a comic-accurate version of the hero, voiced by Grammer.

Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park shared the concept art for Beast in The Marvels, revealing how faithful the MCU’s Beast is to the comic books. He looks remarkably like the Marvel Comics Beast from his early appearances in Avengers. The square jaw, protruding bottom teeth, and defined skull are also reminiscent of Beast from X-Men: The Animated Series, which is the quintessential design for the character, drawn from multiple Marvel sources.

Interestingly, the feline design for Nicholas Hoult’s Beast was once featured in Marvel Comics. Beast transforms into a more cat-like appearance after he endures a secondary mutation. This design was maintained throughout Joss Whedon’s Astonishing X-Men series but was ultimately changed back to a more classic look in All-New X-Men, returning Beast to his previous ape-like form. This rendition has since remained the standard. With the MCU returning Beast to his proper form, the disappointment following Hoult’s Beast design has finally been fixed.

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