Benjamin Walker has reportedly dropped out of the next X-Men film after the studio changed its mind several times on his suitability for the role. Walker, star of the musical Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, was cast a few weeks ago as the young version of Hank McCoy, aka Beast, in Matthew Vaughn’s X-Men: First Class. The character was seen very briefly on a TV screen in X2 and then played by Kelsey Grammer in X-Men: The Last Stand. But after Walker was hired, Fox chairman Tom Rothman insisted the role was recast, according to a report in The Daily Mail.

The reason, it said, was that Walker, variously said to be aged 26 or 28, was deemed too old to play the character alongside James McAvoy, 31, (as young Xavier) and Michael Fassbender, 33, (as young Magneto). Although actors can look different to their actual age, Walker’s Beast is supposed to have been an early student of McAvoy’s Xavier. Three possible replacement actors were screentested on Thursday at Pinewood Studios (where much of First Class will be filmed) and further auditions were planned this weekend and next week.

However, producers yesterday decided that the best option might be to offer Walker the part back because screentests are indicating he may have been the best fit for the role after all. Now, in the latest twist, Showbiz 411 says Walker has passed on it and will instead return to his hit musical which, as a result, will be able to proceed with its planned transfer to Broadway this autumn. The site adds that Fox is keen to cast hot young actors in the prequel to give it some Twilight bite and says the studio had even checked if Taylor Lautner was available. I’m not sure how filling the film with shirtless boys is going to return the franchise to critical acclaim.

In other rumours, it has been alleged that Josh Hutcherson is a favourite for the role of Cyclops in the film. He was previously proclaimed to be the new Spider-Man in a false report that surfaced on a blog just a day before Andrew Garfield was announced for the part. Further gossip has claimed that the character Jamie Madrox, aka Multiple Man, is in X-Men: First Class. The character – a mutant with the power to create clones of himself – was played by Eric Dane in X-Men: The Last Stand. It was obvious the character hadn’t met Magneto in the past.

No official comment was available from the studio. X-Men: First Class begins filming in August and will be released on June 3, 2011. (Source)

According to www.reelzchannel.com, Alice is now confirmed to play the role of Emma Frost in the upcoming film, “X-Men: First Class.” Alice joins Michael Fassbender as stars of the film.

Amber Heard, Aaron Johnson, Rosamund Pike and James McAvoy are all rumored to play various roles in the upcoming film. (Source)

Alice Eve is in negotiations to play Emma Frost in “X-Men: First Class,” Fox’s relaunch of the Marvel Comics-based franchise being directed by Matthew Vaughn. Eve would join Michael Fassbender as Magneto and James McAvoy as Professor X in the story that focuses on Marvel’s superpowered team X-Men in a younger incarnation than the previous trilogy.

In comics lore, Frost was originally a villain called the White Queen who eventually became a member of X-Men, then a teacher at Xavier’s School of Gifted Students. She has telepathic powers and as the White Queen wore scantily clad costumes. (Source)