Popverse's top stories of the day

• My (pseudo) apology to My Dress-Up Darling
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• Why both Louise Simonson and Chris Claremont "weren't sure" Marvel's New Mutants was a good idea

The X-Men films gave us some inspired casting – Hugh Jackman as Wolverine and Patrick Stewart as Professor X immediately come to mind, but who else could have played that version of Beast but Kelsey Grammer? Until his post-credits cameo in 2023’s The Marvels, Grammer’s portrayal had largely been confined to the history books in favor of Nicholas Hoult’s Beast starting in Days of Future Past and whatever new casting came along when the mutants finally joined the MCU. However, the fan reaction to seeing him back in his furry blue suit has opened the door to Kelsey Grammer’s return as Beast in the future.

“There’s nothing I can talk about,” Kelsey Grammer said when asked about his potential return to Marvel films. “What I do know is that there was a huge sort of outburst when I showed up at the end of The Marvels, I guess it was. The response was really almost… it wasn’t unexpected. There’d be some response but it was pretty overwhelming, and so…”

At this point, Grammer made vague motions in the air before adding, “There are some conversations.”

In an industry that relies heavily on keeping things under wraps until an official announcement is made, this is a surprisingly straightforward admission by the Fraiser star that he could be back as Hank McCoy in future installments of the X-Men franchise. Which is exciting, in a way, but it also feels like a step backward. It would be confusing if we got yet another swansong for a franchise that has ended at least twice already. We'll have to see what these "conversations" amount to before we get excited, though.

Turns out, it was New York Comic Con all along – as the place to meet Wanda and Vision themselves, Elizabeth Olsen and Paul Bettany! Limited Thursday NYCC 2024 tickets are still on sale, and then make sure to scoop your Photo Op with them for bragging rights on the ‘gram.