Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd first played Reed Richards in 2005's Fantastic Four, and later reprised the role in 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. His take on Mister Fantastic remains well-liked among fans, though Gruffudd has yet to return to the blockbuster realm.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrived in theaters last weekend, bringing the original Fantastic Four cast back into the conversation. Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans didn't appear in the Marvel Studios movie, though there were rumours about the latter showing up as Nomad (setting the stage for next December's Avengers: Doomsday).
Vulture recently spoke with Gruffudd in a piece that takes a deep dive into his role in the Fantastic Four movies. It's well worth a read to learn how he approached playing the character, and the conversation eventually turned to the infamous deleted scene with Mister Fantastic transforming into Hugh Jackman's Wolverine.
"I don’t know why that didn’t make it into the film," the actor admitted. "Paying homage to the great Hugh Jackman was quite a thrill because I absolutely love him as an actor and his Wolverine."
"I’m glad that it has a chance to exist somewhere. That was a reshoot, and I was in Vancouver on a soundstage and Jessica was in New York, so we weren’t actually together, but we look perfectly in sync."
Asked why a third instalment didn't happen, Gruffudd confirmed he and the rest of the cast were on board and ready to shoot a threequel. However, he remains in the dark about why 20th Century Fox decided against making Fantastic Four 3.
"The mind-set was that we were going to do three, and I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans," he said. "I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [as the Silver Surfer] on that movie, who’s just a terrific artist and an expert in the field of movement. If you want to witness somebody bringing a character to life physically, he’s just untouchable."
"So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control."
Despite largely negative reviews, Fantastic Four made $333.5 million worldwide on a budget of less than $100 million, while Rise of the Silver Surfer ended up grossing $301.9 million on a $130 million budget. At the time, those were some pretty solid returns.
Later, calling Evans' return as the Human Torch in Deadpool & Wolverine "a true delight," Gruffudd described his old co-star's cameo as an "iconic sequence" and added, "I was laughing out loud and just overjoyed by it, and it’s a beautiful homage to what Chris did as Johnny. Yes, he is beloved as Captain America, but he’s also beloved as Johnny Storm."
With that in mind, could we see him back in blue spandex as a Mister Fantastic Variant? "I’m not in the new movie. Fans are convinced that I’m going to be in a particular aspect of this universe that hasn’t been written or filmed yet."
"But this idea of people showing up has been introduced, like Chris in Deadpool, or I think Mister Fantastic appeared in the guise of John Krasinski at one point," he mused. "So, no, I haven’t been approached to reprise Mister Fantastic. But you never know."
If Marvel Studios plans to include the Interdimensional Council of Reeds in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, then there's a good chance we will see Gruffudd as Mister Fantastic again. After all, someone needs to don The Maker's helmet.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters.