Fox considered Taylor Lautner for X-Men: First Class

Breathe a sigh of relief fanboys. If Fox had their way, First Class would be a lot more shirtless.

We’ve been following rather closely the casting of Matthew Vaughn‘s X-Men prequel First Class. We already know that James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender and Alice Eve have joined the cast (as Professor X, Magneto and Emma Frost respectively). The lesser known Ben Walker was also gearing up to star as Beast in the heavily-anticipated feature film.

Roger Friedman over at Showbiz 411 is now reporting that Walker has left the project to return to his starring role in the off-Broadway production of Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson.

With a sudden gap in their cast, Fox are looking for someone to play the new Beast. And who better than Mr. Taylor Lautner? He’s well versed in playing beasts, that’s for sure.

Friedman’s report insists that Fox approached Lautner for the role (or at the very least, checked out his availability). As Moviehole remind us, Lautner will be filming the Bourne-esque thriller Abduction while First Class begins shooting.

Of course, contracts in Hollywood are merely “working suggestions”. We’ll find out more news as it comes.

Discuss: Do Fox really want to recruit the hunky, ab-heavy 18-year-old, only to cover him in blue fur? Who would you like to see as Beast?