The rumors surrounding Marvel’s First Family keep twisting and stretching as we wait for the official cast of the next Fantastic Four movie to be announced. Much like with Spider-Man and Batman, many have donned the blue suits in their attempts to make this property work, but none have been able to uphold a cinematic franchise. Marvel has announced that this new Fantastic Four movie will kick off Phase 6 of the MCU in 2024. The latest of these fan castings, is the leader of the family, Mr. Fantastic himself, Reed Richards.
In his latest piece posted on Instagram, @bosslogic drew Penn Badgley (you know, that creepy stalker from Netflix’s show You, and that creepy blogger from Gossip Girl) as the next Reed Richards. But the artist added a caveat saying he would rather see Badgley suit up as the Fantastic Four’s arch-enemy, Doctor Doom.
I would agree with @bosslogic, Badgley would make for a better villain. However, down in the comments @harleyplays defended the theory saying:
He’s good at the roles he plays and I think this casting says a lot about the angle they’ll take with Reed Richard’s and I’m not mad at it. Also, I’m over Jim as Reed ever since he revealed Blackbolt’s strength right off the bat to Scarlet Witch lmao
This comment about “Jim as Reed,” or more accurately, John Krasinski as Reed, is something that has the internet buzzing. Ever since the release of Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness Krasinski’s casting has been a point of contention; however, Krasinski's future with Marvel seems promising. That said, it’s unclear what his involvement will be moving forward in the MCU. Some have speculated that Krasinski could continie to be Reed Richards and might even potentially direct Fantastic Four.
Even with the possibility of Krasinski playing the main Reed Richards, there's not a lot of solid information we have received about the film. With Jon Watts's exit from Fantastic Four, there are rumors swirling about who be at the helm of the film. Marvel may have found its director in WandaVision's Matt Shakman. but that hasn't been officially confirmed.
Casting rumors about the other three Fantastic Four members have also been floating around. While she has said she won’t be in it, fans love the idea of Emily Blunt being Sue Storm. Fan art of Joseph Quinn, the Stranger Things breakout star, as Johnny Storm has also been made. As for The Thing, Dan Fogler, of Fantastic Beasts fame, said it would be a “dream role.”
Hopefully we’ll learn who will officially star the highly anticipated Fantastic Four soon, but for now, we can only imagine. And hey, it’s the multiverse, so who knows what will happen? The possibilities are infinite!
