Has Marvel Studios found its Mr. Fantastic?
The trades recently confirmed that WandaVision director Matt Shakman would take the helm of the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot, and a new rumor doing the rounds online is claiming that You star Penn Badgley might be up for the role of Reed Richards. In fact, he may have already been cast.
Though previous reports have indicated that the studio was looking for diverse actors for the four leads, former Birth.Movies.Death EIC Devin Faraci said he expects them to go the "traditional" route with Richards during an appearance on the Marvelvision Podcast (via The Direct).
"The guys that [Marvel Studios] been talking to about it are all white guys. That guy [Penn Badgley] from the show You, who probably has the role already, frankly, he's a white guy. They're going with the standard - and he's terrific, by the way, that's a good choice - but, they're going very classical."
Faraci has been out of the game for a while (for good reason), but we're sure he still has solid sources, so this is definitely worth paying attention to. If Badgley does have the gig, there's a very good chance it'll be made official during Marvel Studios' D23 panel on September 10.
John Krasinski already played Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and even though his Variant didn't last very long, a lot of fans expected/hoped to see him return for this planned reboot. He could still do so, of course, but director Sam Raimi did refer to his casting as "fan service" back when the sequel first hit theaters, which obviously implied that the A Quiet Place actor wouldn't reprise the role.
What do you guys think? Would Badgley be a good fit for the leader of Marvel's First Family, or would you be disappointed if Krasinski didn't get another opportunity to bring the character to life? Drop us a comment down below.
About The Author:
Mark Cassidy is a writer, photographer, amateur filmmaker, and Rotten Tomatoes-approved critic from Dublin, Ireland.