It feels like we're finally on the precipice of learning who will play Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four. After months of rumours, all signs point to Pedro Pascal playing Mister Fantastic, while Vanessa Kirby is thought to be a lock for The Invisible Woman.
The rest of the cast seems to be in flux, with Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach potentially playing the Human Torch and The Thing, respectively. Javier Bardem and Antonio Banderas, meanwhile, are both in the running for Galactus.
Still, it's Reed Richards and Sue Storm who we've heard about most and we may finally have some insights into why casting them has been such a challenge for Marvel Studios.
According to scooper @MyTimeToShineH, "Sue is the lead and that bothered some of the actors they talked to for Reed." That's a point John Rocha and Jeff Sneider also brought up while discussing Fantastic Four on The Hot Mic podcast.
Emma Stone, for example, wanted more than Marvel Studios was willing to pay and Kevin Feige is determined not to blow the reboot's budget on the cast. Why? Well, he wants the characters to sell this movie, not just A-List stars.
Pascal is 48 and Kirby is 35, leading to some discourse online about a "problematic" age gap. That's always been the case in the comics, of course, but it was inevitable some people would leap on this to create controversy. Debating that, Rocha mentioned a rumour Marvel Studios has considered a love triangle, suggesting Reed and Sue won't be the strong couple we know from the source material when we first meet them.
Namor has often been a romantic rival to Mister Fantastic, but we'd bet on Marvel Studios and director Matt Shakman going back to the early Stan Lee and Jack Kirby comics to better explore the feeling Ben Grimm had for Sue before becoming the monstrous Thing.
Sneider also mentioned that shooting is expected to start sooner than expected, with cameras rolling potentially as soon as the first week of December.
Potentially contradicting that love triangle claim is the fact an earlier version of the script supposedly included Reed and Sue's son, Franklin. If he shows up, it could be a game-changer for the Multiverse Saga considering the fact he's a mutant who is powerful enough to create new realities!
Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.