In the conclusion to EastEnders' dramatic Who Killed Lucy? storyline, actor Ben Hardy, who played Lucy's brother Peter Beale, left the soap to move to New Zealand. But the young actor will instead be moving to Hollywood, where he is in talks to join the upcoming X-Men: Apocalypse.
The 23-year-old actor, who impressed viewers during the live episodes for the soap's 30th anniversary, missed out on the role of Scott Summers, or Cyclops, first made popular in the 2000 film by James Marsden, but new reports confirm that the actor is now being considered for an as-yet-undisclosed role.
If Ben wins the unknown role, he will be starring alongside Jennifer Lawrence, Michael Fassbender, and James McAvoy in the third film of the newly-relaunched franchise. Oscar Isaac will play the film’s titular villain Apocalypse, while Tye Sheridan, Game of Thrones Sophie Turner, Alexandra Shipp, and Kodi Smit-McPhee.
Bryan Singer‘s X-Men: Apocalypse will take fans of the comic series in to a new direction and will focus on a young Magneto's romance with Mystique, making Michael and Jennifer the stars of the new film.
Ben Hardy with Jacqueline Jossa, who played Lauren Branning
It will be a huge career move for Ben, who joined the BBC soap in 2013. He left during Tuesday's heartbreaking episode with on-screen girlfriend Lauren Branning. The pair made the decision to move to New Zealand and live with Peter's brother Steven, after Lauren choose to keep their baby.
It followed Thursday and Friday's episodes, where audiences discovered that Lucy's murderer was her younger brother Bobby. "Whatever she says, she started it," Bobby told their step-mother Jane, after calling Jane to the house, believing that he had only injured his elder sister.