Who are the actual stars of the upcoming Fantastic Four reboot? We may finally know soon, and for real this time. Variety reports that Fox is ready to start testing actors for two key roles in the film, "Mr Fantastic" Reed Richards and "Invisible Girl" Sue Storm. Miles Teller, who has been rumored for the role for months, is indeed on the short list, alongside Game of Thrones' Kit Harrington and Jack O'Connell, star of the upcoming Unbroken. For Sue Storm the studio is reportedly eyeing Saoirse Ronan, Kate Mara and Margot Robbie.
Michael B. Jordan, who's at the center of the longest-running rumor about the movie's cast, is apparently still the only person director Josh Trank and the studio want for the Human Torch, but nothing is set yet. Variety has no word on who might play The Thing, a.k.a. Ben Grimm or whoever the villain of the film winds up being. We heard back in June that production on the film was supposed to begin in September, but that clearly didn't happen, and just last week X-Men: Days of Future Past screenwriter Simon Kinberg was brought in to tweak the script. There's work to be done, but also a March 16, 2015 release date to get to-- so casting, whoever it winds up being, ought to happen fast.
All six of these rumored names, seven if you include Jordan, are solid up-and-comers, and many of them are being eyed for other high-profile parts-- Ronan turned down The Avengers 2 and has auditioned for Star Wars: Episode VII, Robbie could be Jane to Alexander Skarsgard's Tarzan, Mara was eyed to be Catwoman in The Dark Knight Rises, etc. Any time these kinds of casting stories emerge, especially for superhero films, there's a sense of repetition, of the same 15 or 20 big names going in for parts (until, like Chris Evans, they become so big that they're no longer part of the derby). But it's telling that Teller and Jordan are still involved, and we might be able to suss out some Star Wars scoops if Ronan turns down a part-- maybe because she'll be busy in a galaxy far, far away.
Feel free to share your The Thing casting ideas and any other suggestions for the project in the comments. Hey, they've taken this long to cast the movie, they may as well get our help in getting it right.
