And you thought getting rid of the mustache was controversial.

Longtime "Jeopardy!" host Alex Trebek has cycled through some pretty big changes to his appearance over the years, including, yes, shaving off his iconic 'stache (which he later briefly grew back). But as "Jeopardy!" enters its 35th season -- which premieres on Monday in syndication -- Trebek has an even bigger change in store for fans: The debut of a beard.

The striking change was revealed on the quiz show's social media pages, with Trebek's grinning, grizzled mug appearing as the new "Jeopardy!" avatar on Twitter. The show is currently running a Twitter poll for fans to vote yay or nay on the look, with fans overwhelmingly declaring their love for Trebek's gray goatee (for now, anyway -- the poll is open for the rest of the week).

For now, though, most "Jeopardy!" followers are totally #TeamBeard.

There have been whispers about Trebek retiring for years, with even the host himself saying that the odds of him renewing his contract past its 2020 expiration are "50-50, maybe a little less." But as former "Jeopardy!" champion Alex Jacob noted on Twitter, this bold new bearded look could instead suggest a new beginning for the venerable host.

In other "Jeopardy!" news, the series has been teasing a big season 35 surprise for weeks now -- and it's "bigger than the beard."

While we're a bit skeptical about that claim (c'mon, the beard is HUGE news), we'll be eagerly tuning in all the same. We need to see that glorious beard in some answers and questions action.