Valentine’s Day 2025 will finally bring the version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe of the Fantastic Four, the first family of superheroes of the House of Ideas. The film, which will be titled Fantastic Four and will be directed by the director of Wandavision Matt Shakman, is certainly among the most anticipated of the upcoming Marvel Studios productions and, as such, fans can’t wait to find out who the interpreters designated to bring the beloved heroes (and villains!) to the screen will be this time.
And while there were some strategic changes along the way (for example, the director originally chosen for Fantastic Four was Jon Watts, the filmmaker of the Spider-Man trilogy with Tom Holland), it seems that the film remains a priority for Marvel Studios, intent on offering us the best version of the characters seen so far.
But who will be entrusted with the arduous task of bringing these characters to life?
The Fantastic Four in the cinema
Reed Richards, Susan e Johnny Storm, Ben Grimm e Victor von Doom: in the FOX cinematic past of the franchise we have already had multiple iterations of the characters just mentioned, with alternating successes.
In 1994, a low-budget version of the Fantastic Four was produced by Bernd Eichinger’s Constantin Film in collaboration with well-known producer Roger Corman, but it never made it to the big screen. The film directed by Oley Sassone featured Alex Hyde-White as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Rebecca Staab in those Susan Storm / Invisible Woman, Jay Underwood played Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch and sharing the role of Ben Grimm / The Thing alternated Michael Bailey Smith and Carl Ciarfalio. For Victor von Doom alias Dr. Doom, however, Joseph Culp had been chosen. This version wasn’t destined to have a future, but about a decade later, the Fantastic Four finally find their way to theaters.
In 2005, in fact, perhaps the best known version of the popular heroes arrives, The Fantastic Four with Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis as interpreters of the fantastic titular characters, and Julian McMahon as those of the villain of the film, Dr. Doom. The film cannot be considered a critical success, but it is still appreciated enough to make a sequel, The Fantastic Four and the Silver Surfer, with Laurence Fishburne and Doug Jones to divide the role of the latter.
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But if there are those who criticized the quality of Tim Story’s films, it will be Josh Trank’s Fantastic 4 – Fantastic Four that gets talked about in almost exclusively negative terms: the feature film by the director of Chronicle has an editorial history even more complicated than the previous ones, and the final result, whatever the real culprit behind it, speaks for itself. A pity for a respectable cast, if anything not entirely focused, which sees Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell and Toby Kebbell in the guise of the now usual suspects.
Now, with the “transfer of ownership” of the rights to the characters, which through the acquisition of FOX by Disney are in the hands of Marvel Studios, we will see how the IP of the Fantastic Four will be managed. We had a taste with Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, in which a Variant of Reed Richards played by John Krasinski was inserted, the actor that fans were clamoring to hire together with his wife Emily Blunt to play the famous couple of superheroes. But who will be the stars who will give life to this tour?
Between rumors and fancasts
Since the announcement of their return to the screens by the patron of Marvel Studios Kevin Feigethe Fantastic Four have been the subject of the most unbridled fancasting on the web, and between the choices of fans and those of insiders, between insistent rumors and alleged indiscretions, there are several names that are continually combined with the various characters.
Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic: Adam Driver vs. Penn Badgley
For the head of the family Reed Richards alias Mr. Fantasticas we said the fan favorite has always been John Krasinski. But now that we have seen him in the role and probably will never see him again, we need to think about who, on the other hand, will be the main interpreter of the hero. Among the most mentioned on the web, and especially on social networks, there is the actor of iZombie e Midnight Mass Rahul Kohli, but the names that have often come out of scooper reports and those who boast casting rumors have been rather Adam Driver (Star Wars, House of Gucci) e Penn Badgley (Gossip Girl, You), plus a few references to Ryan Gosling (La La Land, Drive). It’s hard to tell if it will really be one of these actors to take home the role, but let’s see the possible combinations also based on the other performers.
Susan Storm/La Donna Invisibile: Jodie Comer vs. eiza Gonzalez
Per Susan Storm aka The Invisible Womanone of the first names made on the web, in addition to the aforementioned Emily Blunt, was that of Eiza González (Baby Driver, Alita). The actress would also seem to have denied the chatted meetings with the Marvel leaders on Twitter (albeit with regard to the rumors about Elektra in Daredevil: Born Again), but obviously until the announcement of the casting it is not really possible to believe what the possible interpreters who are asked for maximum secrecy say. Meanwhile, around the same time that the Badgley rumors appeared, rumors started pointing to Jodie Comer (Killing Eve, The Last Duel). While these two would seem to be the most popular interpreters, a recent indiscretion would have indicated instead that ai Marvel Studios they would be looking for “Dakota Johnson type” (already engaged with Madame Web). If so, who could they choose? And to what extent should the actress remember Johnson? Meanwhile, on the web there is no shortage of proposals for stars like Dianna Agron (Glee), Constance Wu (Crazy Rich Asians) e Suki Waterhouse (Daisy Jones and the Six).
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Johnny Stormy/La Torcia Umana: Dacre Montgomery vs. Zac Efron
We now come to Johnny Storm aka The Human Torchas well as Susan’s brother. From the very beginning, one name has dominated the fan cast for this role, and that is Zac Efron. The actor of High School Musical e Ted Bundy has been shown to have a broad range when it comes to performances and let’s face it, he would actually be perfect as the character. But watch out for a rising star of both the big and small screens… Dacre Montgomery (Stranger Things, Elvis) seems to be lurking, at least as far as web preferences are concerned, and in Johnny Storm’s shoes it would fit really well, in fact. Of course, Stranger Things colleague Joe Keery also seems to have supporters who absolutely want him in the role, and let’s not forget Lucas Till (X-Men – First Class, MacGyver). Then there are those who support Harry Shum Jr. (Glee, Shadowhunters)…
Ben Grimm/La Cosa: Tom Hopper Vs. Alan Ritchson
Per Ben Grimm, counterpart of The Thing, two actors seem to be the most popular according to the opinions of the web. One is Tom Hopper (Merlin, The Umbrella Academy), the other is Alan Ritchson (Titans, Jack Reacher). Both possess the role physics necessary to render the part well visually, and both already know how to navigate the comic book waters well thanks to their previous roles. Maybe even a Kellan Lutz (Twilight, FBI: Most Wanted) o un Channing Tatum (Step Up, Magic Mike) could give a hard time, and there are even those who propose Jason Statham (Hobbs & Shaw, The expendables), but it is difficult to think, given the average age sought for the performers, that the latter could be the choice of the studios.
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Victor von Doom/Dr. Doom: Rufus Sewell vs. Tom Ellis
And speaking of average age, one who probably exceeds the presumably indicated range is Giancarlo Esposito (Breaking Bad, The Boys), but who wouldn’t want him as Dr. Doom? It is no coincidence that he is the most popular actor among web fancasts. However, wanting to think in different terms, we have to take a look at other names. Not terribly younger, but still closer in age than the other possible performers mentioned so far is Rufus Sewell (The Man In The High Castle, The Illusionist) – that the air gives Victor von Doom has it all, as well as the typical intensity of the character – while another part of the web would like the interpreter of Lucifer Tom Ellis to stand in the way of the Fantastic Four and other Marvel heroes. And if you want to go to fancasts that are perhaps less immediate but still quite widespread, there is always Glenn Howerton of It’s always sunny in Philly.
Therefore, there are many names circulating on the web and which are daily combined with_ The Fantastic Four_, but which are your favourites?
