Cast This: The Fantastic Four

Last Updated on July 30, 2021

In a perfect world, The Fantastic Four would already be playing an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but sadly, Marvel's first family only recently returned home, having remained in the realm of 20th Century Fox for well over a decade.

The Fantastic Four first hit the big-screen in 2005, with Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Although the film received mixed reviews, with most critics taking shots at its goofy humour and bland storytelling, it was still successful enough to warrant a sequel, FANTASTIC FOUR: THE RISE OF THE SILVER SURFER. The original cast returned, joined by Doug Jones/Laurence Fishburne as the Silver Surfer, and although the sequel was a slight improvement over the first, further installments were cancelled. The studio went on to reboot the franchise in 2015 with Josh Trank's FANTASTIC FOUR, which starred Miles Teller as Reed Richards, Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm, but that film fared even worse than its predecessors and quickly became a box-office bomb. With the franchise having now returned to the Marvel fold, fans are hoping that we'll finally get a Fantastic Four movie worthy of the name.

All the way back in November 1961, The Fantastic Four #1 found Dr. Reed Richards, Susan Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm heading into space to test an experimental rocket ship. However, the foursome were exposed to cosmic rays during this flight, and after surviving an emergency crash-landing, they discovered that they have developed fantastic abilities. Dr. Richards found that he could stretch his body into incredible lengths and shapes; Susan Storm could make herself invisible and project invisible force fields; Johnny Storm could generate flames and fly; and Ben Grimm received enormous strength and durability thanks to his thick rock-like skin.

So, in what will be my biggest column yet for Cast This, we'll be casting not one, but four characters in one go! Hold on to your butts. Let's start off with Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic. John Krasinski (A QUIET PLACE) has frequently been brought up as a fan-favourite, with many hoping that his real-life wife Emily Blunt would also join up as Invisible Woman. "I would love that! I mean listen, I’m still getting into the whole superhero thing. I didn’t read comics as a kid, not as many, I read some but not as much, but I’m a huge superhero fan so yeah, I’d love to do something like that," Krasinski said in an interview last year. "If they’re are any left, a lot of these have been taken but the ones that are left, yeah, I would love to do something like that. And listen, I’d love to work with her again so any chance I got would be great." Another possible contender is Patrick Wilson (AQUAMAN), who certainly has experience with comic-book movies, but my personal pick goes to Timothy Olyphant (Deadwood). Not only does he look the part, but he's also proven himself more than capable of delivering performances outside the gruff cowboy mold he typically occupies.

Now on to the Invisible Woman herself, Sue Storm. I've already mentioned Emily Blunt (MARY POPPINS RETURNS), and while some may find the novelty of a real-life husband and wife team distracting, the pair have have shown that they can do great work together. Sarah Gadon (True Detective) would be another fine choice for the role, as would Ana de Armas, who has broken out considerably in the last year after an impressive turn in BLADE RUNNER 2049, and is due for appearances in Danny Boyle's YESTERDAY, Rian Johnson's KNIVES OUT, as well as Cary Fukunaga's upcoming BOND 25.

We'll tackle Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, next. For my first pick, I'll go with Taron Egerton (ROBIN HOOD). The actor will likely have wrapped up the KINGSMAN franchise by the time FANTASTIC FOUR begins to take shape, which would leave him with the freedom to pick any project he chooses, especially as his starring role in ROCKETMAN has been attracting a lot of positive buzz. Johnny can also be something of a comedic character at times, so Jake Johnson (SPIDER-MAN: INTO THE SPIDER-VERSE) might just be the best man for the job, but if we're going for the full-on cocky bastard version of Johnny, I can't think of anyone better than Dave Franco (THE DISASTER ARTIST) to fill the role.

As for Ben Grimm, aka The Thing, it's highly likely that the role will involve of a motion-capture performance similar to what we saw in Josh Trank's film, meaning that the voice will be all the more important. It would be great to see Jon Bernthal (The Punisher) take on a more leading big-screen role, and I've no doubt that he would give Grimm a great physicality. Michael Shannon (THE SHAPE OF WATER) is an actor who I recommend in this column perhaps more frequently than I should, but here he is again to lend a touch of craziness to The Thing. I can't help myself. However, the one actor who really screams Ben Grimm to me is Domenick Lombardozzi (Ray Donovan).

Remember, you're free to suggest anyone in the comments, so let your inner casting director run wild!

Previously on Cast This, you were asked to fill the role of Charles Xavier, aka Professor X, another character who is destined for an MCU reboot. It won't be easy for any actor to follow in the footsteps of Patrick Stewart and James McAvoy, but as usual, you came through with plenty of great suggestions, including Terry O'Quinn (Lost), Mark Strong (KINGSMAN: THE GOLDEN CIRCLE), and Lance Reddick (JOHN WICK: CHAPTER 3 – PARABELLUM).