‘Fantastic Four’ Casting Rumors Are Keeping Restless Film Fans Engaged

The ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike in which actors lobby for a fair contract with the studios has halted nearly all productions and, per the rules of the strike, prevented any major film deals of any kind from officially being made. Perhaps, then, it’s the snoozy current landscape that’s led to rampant online rumors about the upcoming Fantastic Four cast.

For the last several days, there’s been a deluge of unfounded Fantastic Four frontrunners littering the internet—from The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach to former Doctor Who Matt Smith. Steady speculation that Jack Quaid was in the running to play Johnny Storm/Human Torch even led the actor to set the record straight. “Hello everyone. Nope. Not playing Johnny Storm but hey I’m flattered,” he tweeted on Thursday. “Now that you’re here though, donate to the @sagaftra foundation if you can!” he added along with a link to the donation page.

Yesterday, it was reported that The Crown star Vanessa Kirby and Stranger Things breakout Joseph Quinn had been tapped to play Sue and Johnny Storm, respectively, in Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie, according to sources of entertainment reporter Jeff Sneider. Sue, or The Invisible Woman, was previously played by Kate Mara in 2015’s Fantastic Four and Jessica Alba in the 2005 version, while Michael B. Jordan and Chris Evans played Johnny Storm across those two iterations.

Sneider further reports that Smith was in contention to play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, a role occupied by Miles Teller in 2015 and Ioan Gruffudd a decade prior, but his sources now “don’t expect that deal to work out.” Director Matt Shakman (WandaVision) and producer Kevin Feige are reportedly “awaiting a new draft of the script” from screenwriter Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water, at which point they may “reapproach Adam Driver” about the part. (Dev Patel has also been floated as a shortlist possibility, says film reporter Grace Randolph.)

The rumor mill has been less focused on the fourth superhero, Ben Grimm, a.k.a. the Thing. The rock-like character was previously played by Jamie Bell in the 2015 reboot and Michael Chiklis in the 2005 version.

It appears that once every decade, all corners of the film fandom will convene to speculate about a new era of Fantastic Four. Marvel’s take on the superpowered family is currently slated for May 2, 2025 as part of phase six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.