The future of The Beast could be in limbo after "X-Men: Apocalypse" is released. Nicholas Hoult, the actor who portrayed the blue mutant in "X-Men: First Class" and "X-Men: Days of Future Past," said that the next installment of Bryan Singer's "X-Men" series is the last film that he signed up for in the franchise.
Hoult shared that his contract with the franchise will be up after the third film is shown in 2016. Still, the actor is not closing his doors. He did say that he is still willing to reprise his role, depending on the script.
"The first one did so well and [Days of Future Past] got received so brilliantly," Hoult shared with E! News. "It's like, 'Wow, people really want to see the films' and the best thing is it's a great crew and cast to work with and he's a fun character. I have a good time playing him so I'd keep making them."
Late last year, "X-Men" producer Simon Kinberg told Collider that "X-Men: Apocalypse" will round up the end of the "X-Men: First Class" trilogy characters.
Based on the interview, the relationship between Hoult's character and Jennifer Lawrence's Mystique will be highlighted in the upcoming film. Kinberg pointed out that "the relationship between Beast and Mystique is a really interesting one that we didn't have a lot of time to explore in Days of Future Past, so we'll have an opportunity to do more of that in Apocalypse."
Sreenrant reported that Hoult is not the only one who may or may not reprise their roles in the "X-Men" franchise after "Apocalypse" premieres. According to the report, Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy are also nearing the end of their contracts. But there is no news yet whether Mystique's, Magneto's, and Professor X's actors will remain or be replaced in future installments in the franchise.
"X-Men: Apocalypse" is slated to premiere on May 27, 2016.
