For a time, it looked like we might have a "confirmed" cast for Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four. Multiple scoopers claimed Adam Driver had been tapped to take on the role of Mister Fantastic, with Margot Robbie playing Invisible Woman, Paul Mescal eyed for Human Torch, and Daveed Diggs set to play The Thing.
No official announcements were ever made and, perhaps most tellingly, the Hollywood trades never weighed in.
Now, with the WGA and SAG-AFTRA on strike, there's absolutely no indication we'll be getting any MCU casting news in the coming months. Josh Friedman was tapped to rewrite the script shortly before the latter group hit the picket lines, and we now have a small casting update.
Talking to John Rocha, scooper Jeff Sneider reveals that "Adam Driver was never really engaged" when it comes to playing Reed Richards.
In fact, it appears he passed on the role relatively early on. Why? According to Sneider, the Star Wars actor simply "couldn't connect with the character on the page." That might explain the planned rewrite, anyway, and there's always a chance Marvel Studios could try tempting Driver again down the line.
We wouldn't bank on it, though, and the final Fantastic Four cast is likely to look vastly different to what's previously been reported. Since Robbie was supposedly locked in to star as Sue Storm, for example, we've since heard the role could now go to Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning Part One star Vanessa Kirby.
It's been four years since Fantastic Four was announced at Comic-Con and while COVID slowed things down, it's beginning to feel like this project might be a little troubled. It lost original director Jon Watts (he was replaced by WandaVision's Matt Shakman) and clearly can't lock a cast down.
Hopefully, we'll have better news to share with you when Hollywood gets back to normal. At this point, though, that might not be until next year.
Fantastic Four is set to be released in theaters on February 14, 2025.