Kelsey Grammer is Dr. Hank McCoy.

[Shockeye]

Kelsey Grammer is Beast in X-Men 3!
Source: Superhero Hype!
May 18, 2005

ComingSoon.net/SuperheroHype.com got a chance to talk to Marvel Studios President and CEO Avi Arad on Tuesday afternoon about X-Men 3 and he revealed new details about the anticipated third installment.

"It's about to go," Avi says about the film. We asked whether it would build on the first two films. "In my opinion, X3, from a story and script perspective, it's bigger than one and two. It's the concept behind the movie that's bigger than one and two. It's building on our world, building on the world of mutants. In movie one you got to know what a mutant is and had to deal with it visavis humanity and the brotherhood. The second one was actually sort of a continuation but we were able to have more fun with it."

Which brings us to the big news. "And movie three features Angel, Beast, Kitty Pryde and Juggernaut. Right there you have worth the price of admission. And there are more, those are just the ones we can talk about. Juggernaut you had it already on your site, that is [Vinnie] Jones. That was accurate. Angel is not done yet, we're looking at a few guys, but it's a big role, so... we are very close, a few more days. Angel is a great emotional story. It's a very big role in this movie and so is Kitty Pryde, where we have some high choices that are great but it's just not locked up yet." Lost star Maggie Grace is in talks for the role.

Then we got to Beast. "It was the best man for the job. The name is... Kelsey Grammer! If you would have seen his read. It is kinda weird when you think about it for a second, and the key was with the X-Men movies is get the best man for the job. He blew us out of the park. Yeah, yeah, and he's also my neighbor..." As we laughed, Arad reassured us that the "Frasier" star is the right man for the job. "When you look at it you see how again we are continuing with inspired choices."

So what can we expect Grammer's Beast to be like? "Super intelligent. A pacifist Ph.D as he should be. I cannot tell you what he does in the movie because it's an amazing... it's a very big role in this movie. The subject matter of this movie, we don't take Beast lightly. It was someone that we didn't take into one and two because we were busy with other characters and Beast needs to be a centerpiece... and so is Angel, they had to be centerpieces. Too much going on within the story, the origin."

We asked Avi whether Grammer will be wearing a suit like The Thing, played by Michael Chiklis, in Fantastic Four. "You will see Beast like you've never seen him before. It's going to be very true to the comic. Of course we're building a suit and hair, you name it. Without going into detail, he's a very central character here in the movie and very much within what Hank McCoy is, Dr. McCoy."

Layer Cake director Matthew Vaughn is taking over from the first two films' director Bryan Singer. "I'm glad that 'Layer Cake' came out to help people understand who this guy is," said Arad. We've known him for a long time, but once we saw Layer Cake... You know he produces movies and he does understand the role, the sets and writing. There's a lot of functions. Some producers are lucky enough to take the plunge, to say 'that's it, I'm going to go for it'.

Asked whether anyone from the first two movies is not coming back, Arad said that "they're all coming back." Is there anything we can expect for Dark Phoenix or Gambit? "Well, just saying that Famke is coming back, we'll leave it to people's imagination to figure it out. And no comment on Gambit."

Avi added that 20th Century Fox expects to start shooting at the end of July. "We've been in active pre-production, costuming and all these things for quite a while. It's not starting at ground zero."

While we also asked about the other projects in development (click here for his answers), we got a few brief update on the other possible films in the "X-Men" franchise. Arad said that the Wolverine spin-off is "being written, you know David Benioff is writing it. We'll look at it and at the end of the day, if the script gets everybody excited... if David just knocks it out of the park, we want to make it. The when will be answered when we read it." He just said that the Magneto spin-off is in development.

Regarding X-Men 4, Arad said they'll have to wait and see. "You have to look at it. You say, 'Yeah I want to make X-Men 4', but let's see what we can make fresh and exciting that warrants making another one".

X-Men 3 is currently scheduled for a May 26, 2006 release.

May I go on record and say I love this casting? Thank you, I will.

[stray]

Agreed. Great choice.

[HaemishM]

I think he could play it, though I'd like to see the guy who played McCoy in the first movie get the role. But, meh, I think Grammer could pull off the acting bit, so long as the makeup doesn't suck ass. Maggie Grace as Kitty Pryde would be the shiznit, y0. Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut, I'm not so sure about, and I like Vinnie Jones. But Juggernaut has to be fucking massive.

But all those characters? Holy shit, that's a whole lot to expect an audience to follow. Not that I'd have a problem, but I'm not the typical moviegoer. I still think a Magneto or Wolverine spinoff movie are bad ideas. The fact they also don't mention Colussus is a travesty.

[shiznitz]

X-Men > X-Men 2 > Spiderman 2 > Spiderman > Hulk >>>>>>> Daredevil. Who knows where The Fantastic Four will fall, but I won't miss a Marvel movie if I can help it.

[stray]

X-Men > X-Men 2 > Spiderman 2 > Spiderman > Hulk >>>>>>> Daredevil. Who knows where The Fantastic Four will fall, but I won't miss a Marvel movie if I can help it.

*sniff* No mention of the Punisher?

That movie kicks ass damnit!

[WayAbvPar]

Hopefully there won't be any tricky stages for Kelsey to negotiate during filming.

[shiznitz]

*sniff* No mention of the Punisher?

That movie kicks ass damnit!

Didn't see it, so couldn't rank it. If I had to guess, between Hulk and DD.

[Shockeye]

X-Men > X-Men 2 > Spiderman 2 > Spiderman > Hulk >>>>>>> Daredevil. Who knows where The Fantastic Four will fall, but I won't miss a Marvel movie if I can help it.

*sniff* No mention of the Punisher?

That movie kicks ass damnit!

You're right. Dolph Lundgren is a god.

[stray]

*sniff* No mention of the Punisher?

That movie kicks ass damnit!

Didn't see it, so couldn't rank it. If I had to guess, between Hulk and DD.

I liked it better than DD. Not sure about the Hulk. I (unlike everyone else on earth...for some reason) liked the Hulk too.

[sidereal]

I thought the Hulk was great.  He was a little balloony.

No Colossus?  Ass!
I'd swap that whiny Cyclops jackoff for him any day.

[tazelbain]

X-Men > X-Men 2 > Spiderman 2 > Spiderman > Hulk >>>>>>> Daredevil. Who knows where The Fantastic Four will fall, but I won't miss a Marvel movie if I can help it.

S2 > X2  = S1 >> X1 >>>>>>> Hulk > DD

X-Men was made on the cheep and it shows.  The Statue of Liberty thing was so cheesy.

Back to the topic, interesting that they are bring back everyone.  Going to be hectic with so many characters.

I hope they do Sentinels.

[Strazos]

I too was a bit dissappointed by no Colossus, as well as lack of Gambit pwnage.

[stray]

I too was a bit dissappointed by no Colossus, as well as lack of Gambit pwnage.

As much as I like Bo's and Cajun accents, Gambit sucks.

[schild]

Kelsey Grammar annoys me almost as much as French Stewart.

[Ironwood]

Kelsey Grammar annoys me almost as much as French Stewart.

Well, ok, but he can play Beast, don't you agree ??

[AOFanboi]

I too was a bit dissappointed by no Colossus, as well as lack of Gambit pwnage.

Colossus was (briefly) in the 2nd (he rescues some of the children), and Gambit is French and unfitting an American movie. Or something.

But Vinnie Jones as Juggernaut? I always pictured him as somewhat broadly built - Vinnie Jones is more tall and strong (like many footballers of his era). He might pull it of, though.

Yes to Dark Phoenix (otherwise why show that last scenes in X2), but I thought Halle Berry had said she would refuse another sequel unless Storm was made a more central character? But I guess Gothika and Catwoman taught her she can't pick good roles from shit, and should be happy someone else gives her such presents as that role.

[schild]

Kelsey Grammar annoys me almost as much as French Stewart.

Well, ok, but he can play Beast, don't you agree ??

Not if he's sill popping pills, snorting coke and drinking like a fish.

[Shockeye]

Yes to Dark Phoenix (otherwise why show that last scenes in X2), but I thought Halle Berry had said she would refuse another sequel unless Storm was made a more central character? But I guess Gothika and Catwoman taught her she can't pick good roles from shit, and should be happy someone else gives her such presents as that role.

I won't miss her. At all.

[Shockeye]

Kelsey Grammar annoys me almost as much as French Stewart.

Well, ok, but he can play Beast, don't you agree ??

Not if he's sill popping pills, snorting coke and drinking like a fish.

Bah. What happens in the trailer stays in the trailer.

[Ironwood]

Kelsey Grammar annoys me almost as much as French Stewart.

Well, ok, but he can play Beast, don't you agree ??

Not if he's sill popping pills, snorting coke and drinking like a fish.

Doesn't stop me doing my job.

[schild]

Doesn't stop me doing my job.

Do you have to hang upside-down, quote obscure texts, and be an overall dickhead most of the day?

[Ironwood]

Doesn't stop me doing my job.

Do you have to hang upside-down, quote obscure texts, and be an overall dickhead most of the day?

Well, there's not so much of the hanging upside down....

[schild]

But that's the hardest part.

[Polysorbate80]

Yes to Dark Phoenix (otherwise why show that last scenes in X2), but I thought Halle Berry had said she would refuse another sequel unless Storm was made a more central character? But I guess Gothika and Catwoman taught her she can't pick good roles from shit, and should be happy someone else gives her such presents as that role.

I won't miss her. At all.

Agreed (I think Angela Bassett should have been Storm.)

[schild]

[Halle] went from Oscar award winning to the film equivilent of white trash overnight. It was rather incredible. She doesn't even deserve Storm.

[sidereal]

I think she jumped the shark when she spent 10 minutes in tears comparing herself to Dr Mr Luther King after winning the Oscar and everyone else was like 'Halle Berry is black?'  Oh, and then she was Catwoman.  I predict good things for "Nappily Ever After".

[Triforcer]

I think she jumped the shark when she spent 10 minutes in tears comparing herself to Dr Mr Luther King after winning the Oscar and everyone else was like 'Halle Berry is black?'  Oh, and then she was Catwoman.  I predict good things for "Nappily Ever After".

If nothing else, she has a future in Korean fried chicken commercials.

[Samprimary]

The character role of Storm is interesting in that it always has such potential, and is never realized in any incarnation to the extent that it should have been.

Storm's been a throwaway part in the movies, so far. I want an hour long fight sequence where Storm just beats the crap out of opponents with lightning and tornadoes and uncomfortable humidity and shit.

[Margalis]

Have you seen Halle's acting in the X-Men movies? If anything Storm has way too much airtime.

They should strip Storm of her powers and put her in her punk phase as an excuse to cast a new actress in the role. The standards for "best actress" at the Oscars are absurd. Either show some skin or ugly yourself up.

[Abagadro]

Either show some skin or ugly yourself up.

]

For the role she won for she is quite nekky and sexed up, with Biilly Bob no less.

[schild]

The standards for "best actress" at the Oscars are absurd. Either show some skin or ugly yourself up.

Yes. The vast majority (99%) of actresses working today are untalented hacks. Off the top of my head I can't even think of an overwhelmingly good actress. Scarlett Johannson was great in LiT and Ghost World, but then she's also done Perfect Score. Kirsten Dunst was good in Eternal Sunshine (as was Kate Winslett) and Wimbledon to a degree - but then she also did, well, really everything between Interview with a Vampire and Eternal Sunshine was crap. Kate Winslett hadn't been in a great movie besides Eternal Sunshine, unless you're a fan of Heavenly Creatures (I think that's the name. I always get it confused with the Rachel Weisz movie). Speaking of Rachel Weisz, she's also reasonably good, in a really good or positively shitty sort of way. Zooey Deschanel and Maggie Gyllenhall are consistantly awesome, unfortunately their movies are far and inbetween because they aren't hot according to casting director standards. The SUPER BIG NAME WOW actresses (Berry, Roberts, Swank, Paltrow, Hunt, Sarandon, Theron, Foster) are more often than not total shit. When they nail a role, they really nail it. But they never got props for their nailed roles. Angelina Jolie sucks monstrous ass but she's been riding the Girl, Interrupted wave for about 5 years going now. Berry was never good and will never approach good. I wish I could like Julia Roberts and Gwyneth Paltrow, but they won't let me. Girls like Thora Birch and Anna Paquin need to get more work.

The best actress working today is Dakota Fanning. She's 11 years old and runs circles around the cinema sluts listed above. If you've seen Taken, you know what I'm talking about.

Ironically, the leading men of this decade - Pitt, Rockwell, Buscemi, Brody, Foxx, Norton, Spacey, Cage, Robbins, Wahlberg - tend to rock fucking ass. Sure, they're hit or miss, but when they really land their shit it's almost as if they didn't try. There's a certain finesse to it. But then people like Cruise, Washington, and Penn come and fuck everything up for them.

What I'm getting at here is there isn't a duo like Grant and Hepburn that make movies magical anymore. We're in desperate need of a new onscreen team that really lights shit up. Even if it's two males and one of them isn't even acting (Kurosawa and Mifune for instance). I'm sorry but Hillary Swank and Clint Eastwood just don't do it for me. Neither does Jet Li and Morgan Freeman. Or Natalie Portman and Bitchface Christensen.

I'm moving into rant territory now and I'd rather not, suffice it to say - we all need Dakota Fanning to grow up and to stop any of the actors in cable teen dramas from becoming famous. Case dismissed.

[Shockeye]

Ironically, the leading men of this decade - Pitt, Rockwell, Buscemi, Brody, Foxx, Norton, Spacey, Cage, Robbins, Wahlberg - tend to rock fucking ass. Sure, they're hit or miss, but when they really land their shit it's almost as if they didn't try. There's a certain finesse to it. But then people like Cruise, Washington, and Penn come and fuck everything up for them.

When the fuck did Rockwell, Norton and Buscemi become leading men?

[Samprimary]

Have you seen Halle's acting in the X-Men movies? If anything Storm has way too much airtime.

Yes, the casting of Halle as Storm is a big part of why Storm as a movie character won't amount to much. More wasted potential.

[Llava]

When the fuck did Rockwell, Norton and Buscemi become leading men?

I'm assuming he meant Edward Norton...

in which case:
Fight Club
American History X
To name two major ones... though maybe he meant someone else I'm not thinking of.

Regarding the initial subject:
Cautious optimism tempered by hesitant, guarded hope.

[Ironwood]

The best actress working today is Dakota Fanning. She's 11 years old and runs circles around the cinema sluts listed above. If you've seen Taken, you know what I'm talking about.

YES.