A few weeks ago, a hard-to-believe rumour started doing the rounds suggesting that Jason Segel (The Five-Year Engagement) had been cast as The Thing in She-Hulk.
Seeing as the Fantastic Four still hasn't appeared in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Ben Grimm showing up before the rest of Marvel's First Family would definitely a surprise, hence why we didn't really buy those claims. Now, though, The DisInsider Show has also shared this rumour, lending a lot more weight to it than when it first surfaced online.
John Krasinski played a Mister Fantastic Variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but The Thing's presence in this Disney+ series obviously points to Marvel's First Family already existing in this shared world following the events of Avengers: Endgame.
Speculation has run rampant for a while now that the team might have gained their powers during one of the Blips, and this could avoid the need for another origin story (which could just be shown in flashback) while also building excitement for the Fantastic Four reboot's eventual release.
The hosts of this show would go on to add that they anticipate the main four cast members, and possibly even the movie's director, being revealed at D23 in September. As for this episode of She-Hulk, it likely won't have arrived on Disney+ by the time that announcement is made.
It's worth remembering that a She-Hulk plot leak that was every bit as unbelievable surfaced not too long ago, only for the first trailer to confirm much of what was claimed (such as Frog-Man's appearance and Wong's supporting role). Whether this story is accurate remains to be seen, but it's certainly a fun one to speculate about, and Segel, well, we can see that working.
The Fantastic Four's MCU debut is long overdue, anyway, and as they bring characters like Galactus and Doctor Doom with them, their presence promises to be a total game-changer. Only time will tell whether that ultimately includes an appearance from The Thing as early as this year.
She-Hulk: Attorney at Law premieres on Disney+ on August 17.