10 Movie Characters Who Debuted Much Earlier Than You Think
8. Dr. Hank McCoy (X-Men: The Last Stand) - X2: X-Men United
The Character
Dr. Hank McCoy aka Beast (Kelsey Grammer) is one of the most beloved of all the X-Men, as was finally introduced into Fox's X-Men movies in X-Men: The Last Stand, played quite brilliantly by Kelsey Grammer.
The part was then handed off to Nicholas Hoult for the more recent prequels, who delivered a younger, nerdier and sexier twist on the comic book icon.
Their REAL Debut
But Beast actually made an incredibly sneaky Easter egg appearance earlier than The Last Stand, seen on a TV in a bar three years prior in X2: X-Men United, as played by TV actor Steve Bacic.
Franchise director Bryan Singer originally intended to include Beast in the first X-Men film, but he ended up cut due to budgetary constraints.
But when the time was finally right for Beast to get his proper cinematic coming-out party, Singer was off shooting Superman Returns so The Last Stand was saddled with Brett Ratner instead. Oof.