Marvel’s Fantastic Four Casting Rumors: Who is Playing the Next Reed Richard’s After John Krasinski?
Fantastic Four, the most popular superhero family in Marvel’s cosmic universe, gained immense popularity for their groundbreaking comical debut in 1961. Unlike other superhero movies, the Fantastic Four’s strength lies in their family, like a bond that gives them incomparable powers after a space accident. Over the last two decades, three live-action movies have attempted to bring Marvel’s first family to life, with their leader, Reed Richards played by Ioan Gruffudd (Fantastic Four, 2002-2005), and Miles Teller (Fantastic Four, 2015), and seven years later, John Krasinski appeared as a variant in Doctor Stranger in the Multiverse of Madness, the 838 universe’s version.
Matt Smith rumored front-runner for MCU’s Mr. Fantastic
Fantastic Four is one of the most anticipated MCU movies of the Multiverse Saga, right after the Avengers crossovers and Spider-Man 4. After Fox failed to turn it into an amazing success, Marvel is rebooting the series. As the Marvel Cinematic Universe expands, the upcoming Fantastic Four movie sparks rumors and speculation about the casting of the smartest scientist, Reed Richards, reportedly revealing that Matt Smith, the House of the Dragon star, will be the one to take up the mantle. According to entertainment scooper Daniel Richtman, Smith was offered the role of Reed Richards in the MCU’s Fantastic Four film before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
He claimed on Patreon that Smith was the “last actor to get an offer” to play the role. Although there hasn’t been an official announcement from the studio or Smith’s reps, considering the significance of the character, it seems logical that director Matt Shakman and Marvel Studios would be keenly looking for a prominent face to carry the role of Mr. Fantastic. While, Smith has a long career in genre works like Dr. Who, House Of the Dragon, and Venom 2.
Matt Smith was reportedly offered the role of Reed Richards in ‘FANTASTIC FOUR’ prior to the SAG-AFTRA strike.
It is unknown if he accepted or not.
(via @DanielRPK) pic.twitter.com/UDE7cGcDiJ
— One Take News (@OneTakeNews) August 1, 2023
Also Read: Tobey Maguire Net Worth – How Much Money Did He Make From Spider-Man Movies?
John Krasinski and other actors speculated for Mr. Fantastic
Previous speculation claimed that the part of Reed Richards had also been offered to Adam Driver of Star Wars fame. However, according to the most current information, Driver turned down the part because he didn’t feel a connection to the character.
There was also John Krasinski to play the part after the appearance of the variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Meanwhile, names like Pen Badgeley and Dev Patel have also popped up as rumored contenders for the part, adding to the anticipation and uncertainty surrounding the casting decision. Once, during the promotional interview for the movie “A Quiet Place ” with Screen Rant, Krasinski expressed his interest in playing the role of Reed Richard.
“Oh, yeah, the Fantastic Four. I would love that! I mean, listen, I’m still getting into the whole superhero thing. I didn’t read comics as a kid.” But if they are considering me for Mr. Fantastic, continue to consider me because I would love it.”
Eventually, fans got excited and made art of him as the character, creating a lot of excitement and discussion.
Fantastic Four in the realm of grey
The upcoming movie, apart from fixing Reed Richards’ character, also faces a unique challenge in casting, adding more complexities, including discussion on considering Mila Kunis for The Thing’s role.
And now that Marvel has officially announced the film after it was the subject of speculation following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the Fantastic Four movie still exists in that gray area of casting rumors. Similar to Disney Plus releases, Marvel has specific playbooks for releasing trailers for its MCU attractions. We’d expect the first Fantastic Four teaser to drop sometime in the fall of 2024 and is currently set to hit theaters on May 2, 2025.
Source: The Direct
