Maybe the fourth time will be the charm for the Fantastic Four.
The lineage of adaptations of Stan Lee’s comic about a group of scientists whose DNA goes haywire after a rogue experiment (ain’t that always the way) goes as follows: A universally panned film in 1994, a less-panned but still-not-great movie in 2004 starring Chris Evans and Jessica Alba and then another stinker in 2015 starring a pre-Top Gun: Maverick Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan.
Now, another movie is in the works, and big names are about to be attached. Here’s everything we know about this latest experiment for Marvel’s Fantastic Four.
Who is starring in Fantastic Four?
Despite John Krasinski popping up in 2022’s Dr. Strange and the Multiverse of Madness as an alternate reality version of Reed Richards (AKA Mr. Fantastic) and fulfilling some long-desired fan casting in the process, he will not be returning for this reboot. Instead, the role of the daddy of Team Fantastic is apparently going to apocalypse daddy himself, Pedro Pascal.
It’s been reported that Pascal is ‘in talks’ with Marvel to take on the role of the head of Fantastic Four, so long as it doesn’t clash with his other big-time roles in The Last of Us and the upcoming Gladiator sequel.
A bunch of names have been thrown into the ether from Fantastic Four fans over who they’d like to play Reed Richards, and surprisingly, Pascal has barely been considered. Instead, weight was thrown behind the likes of The Fall of the House of Usher‘s (and other Mike Flanagan properties) Rahul Kohli, The Good Place‘s William Jackson Harper and Doctor Who and House of the Dragon star Matt Smith.
Elsewhere, the rest of the crew hasn’t been padded out yet, but names like Lily James and Vanessa Kirby have been thrown out by fans for Sue Storm (AKA The Invisible Woman), Stranger Things‘ Joseph Quinn for Johnny Storm (AKA The Human Torch) and Seth Rogen for Ben Grimm (AKA The Thing). Whether any of those fancasts come to fruition is anyone’s guess, especially considering a relatively rogue choice for Mr. Fantastic.
In terms of behind the camera, since it was announced back in 2019, Fantastic Four has had a changeover. Originally helmed by John Watts, he stepped down after directing Spider-Man: No Way Home. He’s now been replaced by WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman.
When will Fantastic Four be released?
After its 2019 announcement, the film was scheduled to hit our screens in May of 2025. Whether Marvel plans to stick to that date is still up in the air, especially with the knock-on effects of the recent Hollywood writers and actors strike. Hey, they never said that release date was for this version of the multiverse specifically.
