The latest name to emerge as a rumored candidate to play Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four reboot is House of the Dragon and Doctor Who star Matt Smith.
According to movie scooper Daniel Richtman (per ComicBookMovie.com), Smith was offered the role of Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, shortly before the SAG-AFTRA strike began. With pre-production on pause in light of the strike, the casting process has been put on hold, and it’s reportedly unclear if Smith accepted the part. Smith, who also had a key role in Morbius, is one of many actors who’ve been rumored to be up for the Reed Richards role in the film, so this information should be taken with a grain of salt, but it’s nevertheless making waves already on social media.
Adam Driver is another actor who’d been rumored for Mister Fantastic. A recent report claimed that the Star Wars star passed on the project as he couldn’t connect to the way the character was written. Some Marvel fans have also been rooting for John Krasinski to play the part after his appearance as a variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but the actor himself has cast doubt on that possibility. Meanwhile, names like Penn Badgley and Dev Patel have also popped up as rumored actors in contention for the part.
The Fantastic Four Cast Has Not Yet Been Officially Announced
The rumor mill will undoubtedly continue to spin until four names are officially announced by Marvel Studios as the new Fantastic Four. It was recently reported that Barbie star Margot Robbie had turned down the role of Sue Storm, while Mission: Impossible 8‘s Vanessa Kirby has since emerged as a top contender. As for The Thing, rumored names have included Mila Kunis and Daveed Diggs, while Austin Butler and Paul Mescal have been rumored for Human Torch. What all of these actors have in common is none of them have been officially confirmed by Marvel Studios as being up for any of these roles.
The Fantastic Four reboot follows multiple previous live-action incarnations. This version will establish the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s version of the superhero foursome, set to be a part of the MCU’s Phase Six. Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is on board to direct the movie while Josh Friedman (Avatar franchise, Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes) has been working on the screenplay. Filming is tentatively slated to start in early 2024.
Fantastic Four will be released on May 2, 2025.
Source: ComicBookMovie.com