Shortly after the main cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps was announced, several supporting players were added to the Marvel Studios reboot, but their characters were not disclosed.
We'd be very surprised if Paul Walter Hauser wasn't playing the villainous Mole Man, and rumor has it that John Malkovich has been cast as one of the team's oldest foes, Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost.
As for Natasha Lyonne, the most popular theory still seems to be Ben Grimm's love-interest Alicia Masters, but some believe she may provide the voice of H.E.R.B.I.E. the robot. There's also some speculation that she might play a live-action take on her What If...? season 3 character, Birdie.
While speaking to Vanity Fair about her MCU debut, the Poker Face star appeared to drop a pretty big hint about her character.
Just in case, possible spoilers ahead.
"I’m very moved that they want me to be in that movie,” Lyonne tells the site. “It is all very interstellar-type stuff, coming at it from different directions. I’m also in the Smurfs movie, and actually some stuff does happen that’s… I don’t want to get into it, because I’ll get in trouble. But assuming that I’m dead by 8:45 p.m. tonight and they have to cut the movies together in a mash-up, it will all marry well, I think.”
Lyonne is voicing one of the Smurfs (Smurfette, most likely) in the movie, so the fact that she's comparing both roles could suggest that she'll also be providing the voice of an animated/CG character in The Fantastic Four. There could be some other connectivity between both films we're not aware of, of course, but we'd say it's a decent bet that Lyonne is indeed playing H.E.R.B.I.E.
Joining Lyonne will be Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things, A Quiet Place Day One) as Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
Galactus has been confirmed as the main villain, and the Eater of Worlds will be played by Ralph Ineson (The Witch, Game of Thrones). Julia Garner (Ozark, Wolf Man) will play Silver Surfer..
Kevin Feige recently confirmed that the movie will take place in an alternate universe, but we know that Marvel's First Family will appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, so we wouldn't be surprised if they find their way into the main MCU timeline by the end of this movie.
Matt Shakman directs The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.