Andy Park, a prolific concept artist for the Marvel Cinematic Universe, revealed some of the designs he created for Kelsey Grammer‘s furry mutant doctor Beast/Hank McCoy in The Marvels.
Park posted several images to his Instagram showing a range of designs for Beast’s face, each one showing noticeable differences in the character’s fur/hair and his bone structure, with some recognizably influenced by X-Men comic art. “BEAST concept design options I did for THE MARVELS during preproduction!” Park captioned the art. In a previous post on the topic, he explained, “This is one of the versions I did as I gave them a range of options (as we do) all while trying to channel the essence of his comic book origins.”
Although the post-credits scene in The Marvels was the first time that Beast has appeared in the MCU, he has a very long history in the source Marvel comics. Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby and debuting in 1963’s X-Men #1, Hank was one of the founding members of the X-Men. Park referenced the character’s influence in his posts, saying, “I’ve done a lot of designs through my years here at Marvel Studios … this one made the inner fanboy in me squeal just a bit.”
Kelsey Grammer reprises his X-Men role in The Marvels
Grammer first portrayed Beast in Fox’s third live-action X-Men film, 2006’s X-Men: The Last Stand. He then reprised the role in 2014’s X-Men: Days of Future Past. Following his brief appearance in The Marvels, Grammer expects to return for more MCU parts. “It is my hope that you will [see Beast again],” he said in an interview. “I can say with a certain amount of confidence that you will. I would love to.”
In addition to Grammer, Beast has been portrayed on the screen by Nicholas Hoult in 2011’s X-Men: First Class, X-Men: Days of Future Past, 2016’s X-Men: Apocalypse, and 2019’s Dark Phoenix, along with a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in 2018’s Deadpool 2.
The Marvels — starring Brie Larson, Iman Vellani, and Teyonah Parris — is playing in theaters now.
