‘Avengers: Doomsday’ Just Gave Beast a Bold Makeover, and ‘The Marvels’ Look Is Officially Gone
Marvel fans have been buzzing about Kelsey Grammer’s return as Beast ever since his surprise cameo in ‘The Marvels,’ and now ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ is finally showing the world what Hank McCoy looks like as he steps fully into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The character has been a fixture of the ‘X-Men’ franchise for two decades, giving Marvel plenty of history to build on as it folds the mutants into its biggest crossover yet. With the film’s massive ensemble slowly being revealed piece by piece, Beast has become one of the more unexpected topics of conversation among fans tracking every new detail.
Since 2006, Beast has appeared across seven films in the ‘X-Men’ franchise, with Grammer and Nicholas Hoult trading off as the older and younger versions of the character. That long history makes his design choices something fans pay close attention to, especially now that he is sharing the screen with heroes from entirely different corners of Marvel’s universe. Each version of Beast has carried its own visual identity, so any change tends to spark discussion.
That discussion reached a new peak when former Marvel Studios Director of Visual Development Andy Park shared new concept art revealing the looks of several confirmed characters ahead of the film’s release. The biggest change is Beast’s costume, or lack of one, since for the first time in live action he appears shirtless, showing off his blue fur covered torso and arms. The redesign has Grammer’s character baring his chest and arms as his main look for the team up movie, aligning with the rest of the X-Men roster’s outfits.
Previous versions of the character always wore some form of upper body clothing, whether it was a uniform, jacket, or lab coat. That includes his ‘The Marvels’ mid credits scene, where Grammer’s Beast appeared in a long white lab coat and glasses inside what looked like the X-Men’s science lab. The shift to a bare chested look echoes the animated design most associated with ‘X-Men: The Animated Series’ and ‘X-Men ’97,’ giving longtime fans a nostalgic touch.
The new artwork also confirms the presence of three distinct superhero teams, with Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom positioned between Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers and Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards, while Tom Hiddleston’s Loki sits mysteriously at the center of the illustration. Beast is joined by several other returning ‘X-Men’ stars, including James Marsden’s Cyclops, Patrick Stewart’s Professor X, Ian McKellen’s Magneto, Channing Tatum’s Gambit, Alan Cumming’s Nightcrawler, and Rebecca Romijn’s Mystique, all sharing the frame with Earth’s Mightiest Heroes for the first time.
It is worth noting that Beast was missing from the CinemaCon 2026 footage for ‘Doomsday,’ so there is no hard confirmation yet that the shirtless design will carry through the entire movie. Still, other promotional material appears to back up the new look, including recent Hasbro Marvel Legends figures built around the character’s redesigned silhouette and glasses.
With ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ set to hit theaters on December 18, fans still have months to speculate over just how much of Beast’s classic look survives the jump into this new era. Between the shirtless reveal, the returning cast of familiar mutants, and Doctor Doom looming over it all, this might be the most transformed version of Hank McCoy audiences have ever seen on screen. Does this shaggier, shirtless Beast feel like a natural evolution for Hank McCoy, or should Marvel have kept the lab coat intact?
