X-Men: Fear The Beast - 8 Biggest Takeaways From The Abandoned Movie Script
5. Another Beast-Like Mutant Serves As The Film's Villain
In the opening few pages of the script, a mysterious creature terrorizes a small snowy village: a boy named Seelah is killed by this beast, leaving his mother and sister to fend for themselves. This creature is labelled "Wendigo" by the locals, but it isn't just some random wild animal: it's actually Dr. Cartier, who has lost control of his mutation and become a ferocious monster.
The serum that Cartier has reverse-engineered transforms him into Wendigo, a massive (the script describes him as "significantly larger" than Beast), muscular, murderous white brute, a mutant who can easily overpower Hank's own alter-ego.
Beast and Wendigo clash on numerous occasions, and almost every time, the latter comes out on top. The final confrontation between the pair takes place inside a secluded sawmill, and Beast is really on the ropes until a local woman called Ahnah shoots Wendigo with a mutation-suppressing dart, turning him back into Cartier. Cartier then falls into a wood chipper and is shredded, with blood (presumably) splattering everywhere.
The most interesting thing about Wendigo is that Cartier chose to become this monster. He describes his mutation as being "quite a rush", and he enjoys being free of his memories, bounding through the snow without a care in the world.
This makes for a neat contrast with Hank (who generally dislikes his mutation), and it makes you realise that the title isn't referring to other people being afraid of Beast and Wendigo - it's referring to the fact that Hank fears the beast inside him, and is afraid that he might one day end up like Cartier.