The production rights of Vijay's 65th film as lead actor, which was tentatively titled Thalapathy 65, were acquired by Sun Pictures in early January 2020, and the film was set to be written and directed by AR Murugadoss. However, the producers ousted Murugadoss from the film in October 2020, after he refused to cut his renumeration.
Nelson was later hired, and wrote a new script for the film. With an official announcement during December 2020, the film was launched during March 2021 and principal photography began the following month. Irrespective of shooting being interrupted due to the second wave of COVID-19 and the lockdown in Tamil Nadu, filming resumed during July 2021 and ended that December.
It was shot across various locations in Chennai, including a specially designed set resembling that of a shopping mall where most of the film was shot, whilst sporadic schedules took place in Delhi and Georgia. The music was composed by Anirudh Ravichander, whilst cinematography was handled by Manoj Paramahamsa, editing by R. Nirmal and production design supervised by D. R. K. Kiran, respectively.
Beast is scheduled for theatrical release on 14 April 2022, on the occasion of Puthandu.
