Marvel Studios appears to have locked in another major piece of its X-Men reboot puzzle. Reports indicate the studio has chosen an Irish breakout star to play Hank McCoy, and fans already have strong opinions about the decision.
Peter Claffey cast as X-Men reboot’s Beast
Knight Edge Media reports exclusively that Peter Claffey will play Beast in Marvel Studios’ upcoming X-Men reboot.
The Irish actor recently became a fan favorite for his role as Ser Duncan the Tall in HBO’s A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms. Claffey’s name first surfaced as a Beast candidate in April when Jeff Sneider floated the possibility via his channel. Fans immediately began fan-casting the actor, citing his height and build as ideal for the physically imposing mutant. Several scoopers have since corroborated the casting report.
Now, Twitter users voiced their approval of Claffey as Beast. One fan posted, “Let’s go, this is my favorite casting announcement.”
Another spoke of his physicality: “he’s 6’5 and already nailed Dunk, so the size part’s sorted. I’d buy this one.”
Other reactions included “This is a good casting,” “Peak casting,” and “hell yeahhhhh.”
One user commended Marvel’s casting team: “Someone needs to give a raise to the person handling the X-Men casting—they’re making spot-on choices here.”
However, Charles Melton also pursued the Beast role but ultimately stepped away. The Riverdale actor tried to make both the X-Men project and the Naruto live-action film work by re-teaming with director Jake Schreier for D23, but he simply couldn’t balance the schedules. Melton is rumored to play Kakashi Hatake in the Naruto adaptation.
Historically, Kelsey Grammer famously played Beast in 2007’s X-Men: The Last Stand and returns in this year’s Avengers: Doomsday from the 20th Century Fox universe. Nicholas Hoult played a younger Hank McCoy in the X-Men: First Class trilogy. The current broader X-Men cast features Christopher Abbott as Professor Charles Xavier, Sadie Sink as Jean Grey, Kit Connor as Cyclops, Samara Weaving as Emma Frost, Inde Navarrette as Rogue, Asa Germann as Angel, and Maya Boyd as Storm. Adam Driver will portray the main villain, Mister Sinister. Production is expected to begin in the UK sometime in early 2027.
Marvel Studios has not confirmed Peter Claffey’s casting in X-Men, so fans would either have to wait till it reaches theatres on May 5, 2028, or until studio confirmation.
