Marvel Studios reacquired the film rights to the Fantastic Four in Disney’s merger with 21st Century Fox, and Kevin Feige is wasting no time putting those rights to use. A Fantastic Four reboot set in the MCU is in development with Jon Watts in the director’s chair, and since the official cast has yet to be announced, fans’ imaginations are going wild.
Real-life married couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt have become the most popular fan castings for the MCU’s Reed Richards and Sue Storm, but there are a bunch of strong candidates to play this iconic hero.
John Krasinski
John Krasinski, who Marvel previously considered for the role of Captain America, has become the most popular fan casting for the role of Reed Richards. The warm, likable quality that Krasinski brought to Jim Halpert makes him ideal for the flexible, mild-mannered superhero.
The core theme of Fantastic Four stories is family, and the A Quiet Place series – Krasinski’s best-known work since The Office – has revolved around a family’s quest to survive the apocalypse.
Colin Farrell
Colin Farrell is about to join the superhero genre in the villainous role of the Penguin in Matt Reeves’ The Batman, but if he’s interested in exploring the other side of comic books’ moral spectrum, he’d make a great Reed Richards for the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Farrell was fully convincing as a surgeon in The Killing of a Sacred Deer, and a scientist isn’t too far from that. Plus, S.W.A.T. and Miami Vice proved Farrell can handle the physical demands of action-oriented roles.
Joseph Gordon-Levitt
Marvel has been trying to get Joseph Gordon-Levitt into its gargantuan ensemble for years. He was a frontrunner for the role of Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy and later for the role of Scott Lang in Ant-Man, but he turned both parts down.
Considering the mix of physicality and intellectual pontification he brought to Inception and the humor he brought to 50/50, Gordon-Levitt would make a great Reed Richards.
William Jackson Harper
The actor who plays Reed Richards will need to convincingly sound like a genius, rattling off complex scientific dialogue like they know what they’re talking about. In the role of super-smart philosopher Chidi Anagonye in NBC’s The Good Place, William Jackson Harper had to do a lot of that.
Harper gave memorable supporting turns alongside Adam Driver in Paterson and Florence Pugh in Midsommar, and it’s about time he took center stage.
Glenn Howerton
Glenn Howerton already lost out on one major Marvel role. He was the second name on James Gunn’s shortlist for the role of Peter Quill in Guardians of the Galaxy, but the part ended up going to the top choice, Chris Pratt. Instead, Howerton could play Mr. Fantastic.
Glenn is already the de facto leader of one unconventional family unit with his role as Dennis Reynolds in FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. He could bring the same leadership to the Fantastic Four reboot, minus the evil.
Andrew Lincoln
Andrew Lincoln is, of course, best known for playing Rick Grimes in The Walking Dead. The actor has gone to some very dark places throughout Rick’s on-screen arc, proving his ability to start out with a clear-cut heroic character and find their depth along the way.
He just did his first movie in a decade, Penguin Bloom, suggesting a return to big-screen work. If Lincoln is interested in doing more movies, he’d make an awesome Mr. Fantastic.
John Cho
John Cho has played a bunch of different characters, like pothead Harold in the Harold & Kumar movies, Enterprise helmsman Sulu in the Star Trek franchise, and concerned father David Kim in the acclaimed screen-based thriller Searching.
That last movie in particular demonstrated Cho’s ability to anchor a movie as a likable lead and carry an audience through a complicated story, which the Fantastic Four storylines that the MCU will likely adapt will require.
Jon Hamm
It helps if an actor has TV experience before joining the MCU, because then they’re used to playing a character across several years. Jon Hamm isn’t just an accomplished TV actor; his performance as antihero Don Draper in AMC’s Mad Men helped to usher in the “Golden Age of Television.”
Hamm has the leading-man charisma, dramatic nuance, and sharp comedic timing to anchor the Fantastic Four reboot with a captivating portrayal of Mr. Fantastic.
Patrick Wilson
Patrick Wilson is primarily known for starring in horror movies like Insidious and The Conjuring, but he anchors those movies by playing a relatable everyman who is thrust into terrifying situations.
Wilson already dabbled in the comic book genre with the role of Orm in Aquaman. But that was a villainous role. If he’s interested in playing a hero, he’d make a great Reed Richards.
Keanu Reeves
Thanks to the John Wick franchise and his general wholesomeness, Keanu Reeves is currently one of the most beloved stars in the world. In 2019 when speaking to ComicBook.com, MCU maestro Kevin Feige said, “We talk to [Reeves] for almost every film we make... I don’t know when, if, or ever he’ll join the MCU, but we very much want to figure out the right way to do it.”
The role of Mr. Fantastic, an older hero who acts as a wise mentor figure to other Marvel superhumans, would be the perfect way to introduce Reeves into the MCU.