The introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Fantastic Four hasn’t even happened yet, but that’s never stopped the fans from picking their own casting candidates. Among the most hotly-tipped prospects over the past couple of years has been real-life couple and A Quiet Place stars John Krasinski and Emily Blunt. Those odds may change after today though, as Blunt has addressed those rumors, and the possibility of playing a superheroine, in a new interview.
During her appearance on Howard Stern, Emily Blunt lived up to her name when addressing the Fantastic Four fan-castings that have seen rumors and fan art flying throughout the internet for some time. As Mr. Stern asked her whether or not the rumors had any more weight to them, Ms. Blunt confirmed they were as seethrough as Sue Storm’s powers. This led the former MCU candidate to elaborate the following as the conversation progressed:
Emily Blunt: That is fan-casting. No one has received a phone call. That’s just people saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be great?’Howard Stern: Are you too good of an actress to really take that role seriously? Maybe the whole genre of superhero movies is beneath you.Blunt: It’s not that it’s beneath me. I love Iron Man and when I got offered Black Widow I was obsessed with Iron Man. I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr.—it would’ve been amazing … but I don’t know if superhero movies are for me. They’re not up my alley. I don’t like them. I really don’t.
As she spoke with Howard Stern about comic book movies and TV shows in general, Emily Blunt also mentioned a sense of feeling “exhausted” and “inundated” with superhero content. Which, to someone who doesn’t really connect with superheroes, be they Marvel or DC, sounds pretty accurate. Just one look at Marvel Studios’ current slate is enough to confirm that the next year or so is going to be either a feast or a famine at the movies, depending on how you look at it.
However, as Emily Blunt herself alluded to, she was offered the opportunity to play opposite Robert Downey Jr. in 2010’s Iron Man 2. If she'd accepted that post, she would have played the role of Natalie Rushman, a.k.a. Natasha Romanoff, the Black Widow herself. Unfortunately for Blunt, because of a contractual obligation to Fox after The Devil Wears Prada, she had to pass on the Phase One MCU project. Instead of Iron Man 2, she ended up making the Jack Black-led remake of Gulliver’s Travels, which opened the door for Scarlett Johansson to step into the Black Widow role after Blunt's departure.
However, past history aside, that’s not to say that Phase One was the only chance to get Emily Blunt on board for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Much like Jessica Chastain did when she passed on starring in Doctor Strange, Blunt expressed that if she was going to play a superhero, it’d have to be something cool and interesting enough for her to take on. So if anyone out there happens to be reading this in the Fantastic Four writing room, you may want to keep this in mind as you do your latest round of revisions, as you could be the key to landing Emily Blunt and/or John Krasinski in the MCU.
For now, the burgeoning universe of A Quiet Place will bring both Emily Blunt and John Krasinski back to the big screen in just a couple of weeks. A Quiet Place: Part II is set to open nice and loud in theaters on May 28, with a trailer that suggests this next chapter is going to be absolutely nuts; which may not have happened if it wasn’t for the path of fate detailed above.
