We'd hoped to end 2023 with some solid Fantastic Four casting news. Instead, Pedro Pascal remains a likely contender to play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (he's the only actor revealed by the trades to be in talks for the role), and beyond that...well, it depends on who you believe.
It's looking likely we'll see Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. Meanwhile, Antonio Banderas, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Mads Mikkelsen are among those who could take on Marvel's First Family as the reboot's big bads.
An official casting announcement has to be somewhere on the horizon (we're beginning to lose hope), and a small update about Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four plans has now been revealed by insider Jeff Sneider.
Talking on John Rocha's podcast, he revealed that the studio's top priorities are finding a director for Spider-Man 4, righting the ship with Captain America: Brave New World, and getting work "up and running" on Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four.
In the latter's case, Sneider expects that to be by mid-March; it sounds like he was referring to shooting beginning by then, so here's hoping we're days, and not weeks or months, away from learning who will play the MCU's most famous foursome.
"I’m not so much looking at the other movies," director Matt Shakman said about his approach to Fantastic Four last year. "I'm looking at the comics themselves. I'm a huge comic book fan. I’ve been a big fan of the Fantastic Four since I was a kid. So going back to Kirby and Lee and Byrne and following all the way up to what's happening, certainly Hickman and Wade and Ryan North, what he's been doing.|
"I'm trying to figure out who these characters are to me and how to bring them to life in the best possible way, and that's really where I've started and how we've approached it."
The Fantastic Four, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, debuted in 1961. The team is comprised of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Susan Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ben Grimm (The Thing). They gained superpowers during a space mission, becoming Marvel's first family of superheroes.
Reed is the brilliant stretchy strategist, Sue has invisibility and force field powers, Johnny controls fire, and while Ben possesses super strength, he's also covered by rock. The team confronts cosmic threats, explores alternate dimensions, and battles iconic foes like Doctor Doom. Their groundbreaking stories revolutionized superhero comics, emphasizing family dynamics and sci-fi adventures.
Director Matt Shakman has worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on the latest draft of Fantastic Four's screenplay. The movie is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.