Those of you who checked my previous fan casts will know for my casts I’ve taken on a bit more a generic view with casting, those of you who don’t, just to make it clear; rather than cast one specific film entry in a franchise I decided to cast of characters I’d expect to be around in a ‘5 year’ window of the Marvel universe/existence of the Avengers (yes, I’m inspired by the New 52), and who will hopefully crop up in Marvel’s future films.
Now, the Fantastic Four have always been a bit of a funny team for me; growing up, I was never really a fan of them and to this day, that’s still debateable. Nonetheless, I love the premise behind the team and their position in the Marvel universe if not always their execution. Whilst I’ve enjoyed both incarnations of the Four from the 90’s animated show and the more recent one, my interest in the characters mainly stems from reading the Ultimate universe comics; admittedly not always good, but interesting at least and the main source which I’ve drawn inspiration from for my cast.
Anyway, given that the last two Fantastic Four films were complete crap I’d love to see this series get the reboot it deserves. Personally speaking, if a Fantastic Four film was made to be like a cross between J.J. Abrams’ Star Trek, The Incredibles, Chronicle and Prometheus, then I really think we’d be in for treat. Not only do I think this would allow for a perfect tone for the series but also the perfect balance of darkness and lightness and just give the series and the characters in turn, the credibility and love they deserve.
___________________________ Hugh Dancy as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic Dancy only caught my attention with his role as Will Graham in
Hannibal; quite frankly, whilst I've been aware of him, his work there blew me away. It’s clear to me now that he’s a really talented and pretty underrated actor. As seen in the aforementioned show alone, Dancy can play unconventional and socially awkward geniuses very well and also knows how to handle dark material well too. End of the day, given that he already knows his way around light material and more than proven his talents with darker material I think he’d be a very interesting choice for the role and definitely be able to bring more depth and a bit more edge to the role and just make Mr Fantastic that much more interesting and appealing.
Rachel McAdams as Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman What can I say? Whilst not necessarily a very original choice for the role, McAdams is very hot and talented and can play outspoken, feisty and intelligent well, as seen in her roles in;
State of Play and
Sherlock Holmes in particular. Ignoring that however, like Dancy, McAdams is fairly versatile; capable with both light and darker material, so personally speaking I think she’d be a great choice for the role and bring a nice balance to the character too.
Hunter Parrish as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch I’ve seen Parrish in a few things now and it must be said, he needs to be cast in this role. Not only does Parrish strongly resemble the character but he can play a smartass like a pro and is pretty charismatic and more than capable with comedy and even drama as seen primarily through his work in
Weeds. Also, the fact that (to me at least) he has a slight resemblance to McAdams makes me think he’d work even better in the role as he genuinely could pass of as her brother (something which clearly wasn’t the case with Chris Evans and Jessica Alba). So, Parrish as Johnny Storm? Definitely something I’d like to see happen.
Joel Edgerton as Ben Grimm/the Thing Edgerton has quickly become one of my favourite actors. He’s proven himself to be a very capable actor and has a definite knack at playing the tough guy with a heart, like a pro. His work in
Warrior in particular however is what convinced me he’d be the ideal candidate for the role, as there he basically displayed all the characteristics needed for a role like this and brought the necessary kind of underdog presence needed. Put simply, if given the chance, I think Edgerton would own the role and very likely, potentially be the best if not of the best casting choices in history.
Gary Oldman as Franklin Storm Note: Whilst I realise in the regular Marvel universe the character doesn’t have too large a role, in the Ultimate universe he is essentially Reed Richard’s mentor and partially responsible for bringing the team together, so this is definitely something I’d like to see translated to the big screen.
So, Oldman as Franklin Storm? Well, like we all know Oldman is one of the greatest and most versatile veteran actors around. He’s really underappreciated and talented and is great at playing intelligent and wise characters with presence, so in a role like this? I think it’s safe to say he’d absolutely own.
Jennifer Morrison as Alicia Masters I mainly know Morrison from her work in
House and
How I Met Your Mother and whilst this is a slightly limited view of her talents, she’s nonetheless effectively proven herself to be a very capable actress. However, I mainly cast her here because of her role in
Warrior. Whilst again, it can be said she was slightly limited in what she had to do/work with, she still pulled it off and worked pretty well alongside Edgerton, so frankly, I’d like to see her work with him again and just bring some of that realness and chemistry they had in that film here.
Denzel Washington as Nick Fury Replacing Sam Jackson? Not an easy job, but if there is one actor in Hollywood who could surpass him as super spy Nick Fury it’s Washington. He’s a badass and has proven himself time and time again and with roles in films like
Training Day and
Safe House in particular showed me what he could do as Fury and I loved his characters in both films so would love for him to eventually get the role.
Rhona Mitra as Maria Hill First off I just want to say Cobey Smoulders is a hot but cringe worthy actress whereas Mitra on the other hand, is a really great actress. She won me over a long time ago with her work in
Doomsday and more recently
Strike Back. If given the chance I’m certain she could deliver with the role in spades, because let’s face facts; she’s hot, she’s tough and she can act- already an improvement from Smoulders.
Lance Reddick as Uatu the Watcher Reddick is a really great actor and I could give thousands of reasons why I’d love to see him cast in the role but let’s keep it simple;
Fringe. Reddick’s role in that show really struck a chord with me and convinced me he’d really shine in the role. Yeah, admittedly he wasn't an Observer but he's got a really great and powerful voice too so personally, I think he'd own in this and just be really great as the glue that binds the MCU together.
Adrian Brody as Blackagar Boltagon/Black Bolt Unfortunately this choice wasn’t as original as I thought, but it is very good and definitely one that needs to happen. Since
The Pianist I’ve only thought of Brody in the role. He’s a ridiculously talented actor but for some reason doesn’t quite as much attention or roles as he really deserves. He’s very versatile and talented and can even handle action as seen in
Predators, but I cast him primarily as he comes across as very intelligent and patient; something which I associate with this character and so, personally speaking if cast, I think he’d hit it out the park.
Charlize Theron as Medusalith Amaquelin-Boltagon/Medusa Theron is a very talented and beautiful actress; I’ve seen her in a lot of things now and it’s pretty clear she’d be outstanding in the role. Her work in
Snow White and the Huntsman and
Prometheus in particular however made me think she’d own the role. Quite simply, she comes off as a pretty damn classy and has a certain regal presence that just makes me think she’d be more than capable of embodying the character very well and in turn make the character that much more interesting.
Gabriella Wilde as Crystalia Amaquelin/Crystal I’ve only seen Wilde in a few things now, but it’s become clear she’s definitely a young actress to watch. Not only is she very beautiful, she’s pretty talented and has a certain innocent and flirty appeal to her which makes me think she’d be really great in the role, really that simple.
Richard Armitage as Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom I've seen Armitage in quite a few things now, and he's definitely proven himself to be perfect for this role. He’s a very talented actor and knows how to play intelligent, manipulative, badass and classy and regal anti-heroes/villains very well, but personally speaking, I cast Armitage as I think he would be able to work off Dancy really well in the role and definitely bring some more depth and presence to the role too. So, put simply, Armitage is more than qualified for the role and would definitely own it; he even resembles the character quite strongly, so hopefully it is something that happens somewhere down the line.
Noomi Rapace as Lucia Von Bardas The Millennium trilogy,
Sherlock Holmes: A Game of Shadows and
Dead Man Down have more than proven how talented and versatile Rapace is to me. She can play tough, gritty, intelligent, suave, damaged and mysterious all very well and to me, that more than qualifies her for the role; so, I’d be more than willing to see what she could do here.
Luke Evans as Namor/the Submariner Since Evans role in
Immortals I thought he’d be great as Namor, he did nothing but reinforce this view in my mind with his extremely badass turn in
Fast and Furious 6. He’s clearly a rising talent and if given the chance, I think he’d be more than capable of making this role his own.
Andy Serkis as Arthur Molekevic/Mole Man Whilst Serkis is mainly known for his motion capture work, he’s also pretty good actor without any computer magic too. Regardless of this, I’ve seen Serkis in a few things now and it’s clear he’s pretty damn talented; he can play intelligent, sleazy, creepy, eccentric and odd characters pretty well, so in a role like this I think he’d be more than capable of playing a creepy genius who isn’t quite as laughable as you’d expect.
Jackie Earle Haley as Annihilus Haley is one of the most underappreciated actors around. Admittedly he’s played a lot of similar character downs the line but I think he can bring a nice touch of darkness and humour and charm to his roles too (though the latter aren’t really necessary for a role like this). His work in
Watchmen,
Little Children and
Human Target in particular convinced me he’d the best man for the job.
John Malkovich as Phillip Masters/the Puppet Master Malkovich is great at playing weird and wacky, intelligent villains very well. He always knows how to bring that perfect balance of creepiness, humour and drama to his roles and put simply if cast here I think he’d have a hell of a good time and just really shine and give us an entertainingly weird villains to watch. His work in
Con Air,
Johnny English and
Red in particular made me think he’d own the role.
Ruth Wilson as Rhona Burchill/the Mad Thinker Note: Whilst the regular version of the character is male, I’ve opted to go with the Ultimate version as not only does the regular Marvel universe version seem a little generic to me but the Ultimate version just comes off as a little more creepy and interesting too- she’s essentially, a rival/spurned lover of Reed’s, who splices people’s brains with her own to be more intelligent and uses the remnants of her dead brother as an android to do her bidding.
So, I haven’t seen Wilson in much outside of
Luther, but she’s more than proven her talents there. Her role as the psychotic Alice Morgan there was essentially an ‘audition’ for me for her in this role and if given the chance to play this character at least half as similar to her take as Alice Morgan, then well, we’d really be in for a treat.
Gaspard Ulliel as Maximus Boltagon/Maximus the Mad I won’t lie; I’ve only seen Ulliel in
Hannibal Rising but hell, he left a lasting impression on me. He’s a fairly talented young actor and has definitely got a creepy charisma factor to him so I’d be willing to see what he could do, especially given that he shares somewhat of a resemblance to Brody. So, if given the chance I think Ulliel could really impress.
Peter Mensah as Kl’rt/Super Skrull Mensah really is the only choice for me here; he’s a ridiculously underrated badass who unfortunately gets the short end of the stick with most of his roles. He always brings a solid world weary and authoritative presence to his roles (as seen in
Spartacus), so I could definitely see him making the character more memorable and appealing and really just bring some nice emphasis to the notion of the character being a veteran warrior.
David Tennant as Bentley Whittman/the Wizard With Tennant’s work in
Dr Who and
Fright Night in particular, I’ve wanted to see him in this role. He’s a talented and charismatic individual and definitely knows how to play eccentric geniuses who are borderline crazy and has even dabbled well with dark material. Essentially, he has knack at playing characters like this and if cast I can really see him having fun with it and just making the character very entertaining and appealing.
August Diehl as Ulysses Klaw/Klaw I’ve only seen Diehl from his work in
Inglorious Basterds but he certainly left a lasting impression on me from that. He can play cold, calculating, deceptive, ruthless and intelligent very well and just looks like a creepy bastard, so I’d be willing to see what he could do in the role.
Benedict Cummberbatch as Kang the Conqueror What can I say? Cummberbatch won fanboys over a long ago when he first hit TV screens in
Sherlock and since then he’s only continued to impress, most recently in
Star Trek: Into Darkness. End of the day, he can play cold and calculating like a pro and he genuinely comes off as intellectually superior so I’d love to see him take on the role and think he'd make the character shine.
Only thing I’d say is I’d prefer a more drastic change up to the character’s look; essentially something a bit more futuristic looking- Kris Anka’s redesign would be a great place to start –
Click Here to See James Callis, Anna Torv, Aaron Paul and Adrian Holmes as Simon Utrecht/Vector, Ann Darnell/Vapour, James Darnell/X-Ray and Michael Steel/Ironclad (The U-Foes) Callis, Torv, Paul and Holmes; all talented actors who don’t quite get as big a spotlight as they deserve. Callis proved himself to me a long time ago with his work in
Battlestar Galactica, Torv won me over with
Fringe, Paul with his work in
Breaking Bad and Holmes whilst notable for any role in particular, has a knack for playing complex tough guys pretty well and is definitely a solid actor as seen via his work in
True Justice and
Elysium. So, put simply, if cast I think these four actors would own their roles and just serve as a great parallel to the Fantastic Four and prove to be some really great villains for them to face.
Jared Leto as Norin Radd/the Silver Searcher Note: No, I haven’t made a typo; I get that the character is mainly known as the Silver Surfer, but I’ve opted to go with the character’s Ultimate name simply as given his job, it just seems more credible (and less cheesy) to call him the Searcher as opposed to the Surfer.
So, Leto? He’s one of the most underrated and transformative actors around, I’m not sure why he doesn’t get more of a spotlight but whatever, he’s a talented individual who can handle both dark and light material so would be a credit to any cast.
Michael Wincott as Galan/Gah Lak Tus Note: Rather than the classic version, I like what was done to the character when he merged with his Ultimate incarnation in
Hunger, and hope this is a change that makes it to the big screen.
Now, I’ve seen Wincott in a bunch of things over the years, but the main reason why I think he’d be good for the job is both due to his memorable voice and his role as Top Dollar in The Crow. His performance there just speaks for itself.
___________________________ So, that’s my ideal cast for Fantastic Four. I hope you enjoyed checking it out, and if you did look out for my X-Men cast!