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Everyone’s feeling fantastic—Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps is finally hitting theaters.
After years of fan casting, speculation, and delays, Marvel Studios revealed the highly anticipated cast in a Valentine’s Day 2024 announcement, introducing fresh faces as Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm.
This isn’t the first time the Fantastic Four have graced the big screen. The 2005 and 2007 films starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis—long before Evans suited up as Captain America and helped launch the modern MCU. A 2015 reboot with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell tried to reignite the franchise but failed to impress at the box office. The characters officially returned to Marvel Studios after Disney’s acquisition of 21st Century Fox in 2019.
Now, with Fantastic Four: First Steps set to usher Marvel’s first family into the MCU, fans are more eager than ever. Hollywood Life is breaking down everything to know before the film premieres.
Who Are The Actors In The New ‘Fantastic Four’?
Marvel Studios confirmed the Fantastic Four casting on February 14, 2024. A Valentine’s Day poster of the cast in character was shared across social media. Here’s who is playing the film’s 4 major roles: Pedro Pascal is Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby is The Invisible Woman/Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as The Human Torch/Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach is The Thing/Ben Grimm.
Jeff Sneider reported in August 2023 that Vanessa and Joseph were “being eyed” for the roles of siblings Sue and Johnny Storm. Vanessa is coming off her latest run as the White Widow in Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning Part One. She notably played Princess Margaret in the first two seasons of The Crown. She earned an Oscar nomination for her role in Pieces of a Woman.
Joseph had his breakout moment as Eddie Munson in Stranger Things Season 4, was cast in the Gladiator sequel, and starred alongside Lupita Nyong’o in the Quiet Place prequel.
Pedro Pascal had been in talks to play Mr. Fantastic/Reed Richards for quite some time, according to Deadline. In the months leading up to the announcement, scheduling was “still being worked out,” but negotiations are “headed in the right direction” for The Last of Us star to step into the coveted Fantastic Four role. The actor is currently filming The Last of Us season 2.
Ebon Moss-Bachrach was a name that came up late in the game for The Thing. The Bear star has skyrocketed to fame after his critically acclaimed performance in the first two seasons of the FX series. The actor previously won an Emmy and Golden Globe for his role as Richie.
According to Jeff’s report, Marvel had secret screen tests for Reed Richards before the SAG-AFTRA strike. Christopher Abbott and Jamie Dornan reportedly participated. Marvel wanted a “bigger name” and approached Jake Gyllenhaal for the role, but he wanted “too much money.” Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige feared the cast was “way too white” and sought to diversify the cast with the Mr. Fantastic role.
Jack Quaid’s name was also popular amongst fans for the role of Johnny Storm, but The Boys star took to Twitter to refute the rumors. “Hello everyone. Nope. Not playing Johnny Storm but hey I’m flattered. Now that you’re here though, donate to the @sagaftra foundation if you can!” he tweeted on August 3.
Hello everyone. Nope. Not playing Johnny Storm but hey I’m flattered. Now that you’re here though, donate to the @sagaftra foundation if you can! https://t.co/ertJTWWhYb
— Jack Quaid (@JackQuaid92) August 3, 2023
As for Mr. Fantastic, John Krasinski had been a popular choice for years, even more so after his appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. However, it was also reported that House of the Dragon star Matt Smith was “in discussions” for the role but sources didn’t “expect that deal to work out.” Adam Driver reportedly passed on the role. Dev Patel’s name was on the Mr. Fantastic shortlist, according to film reporter Grace Randolph.
‘Fantastic Four’ Release Date
Fantastic Four is set to release on July 25, 2025. The film was directed by Matt Shakman. He notably directed 9 episodes of Disney+’s WandaVision. He was initially set to direct a Star Trek sequel, but he left the project to helm Fantastic Four. Matt told The Wrap in February 2023 that the Fantastic Four directing opportunity was “just too hard to pass up.” He also noted that filming was expected to start in early 2024.
Will John Krasinski Play Mr. Fantastic?
No, Pedro Pascal is taking on the role of Mr. Fantastic in the 2025 film. Although John Krasinski previously played the superhero, his brief run as Mr. Fantastic is over. The actor made a cameo appearance as Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, giving a legion of fans the Reed Richards they’d been fan-casting for years. Despite playing the iconic superhero in the MCU — albeit in an alternate universe — John’s version of Mr. Fantastic died at the hands of Wanda Maximoff.
In December 2022, The Office alum revealed whether or not there had been any ongoing discussions about him continuing the role in the future. “There aren’t any discussions at all, the only discussion I had was actually in the second-to-last week of Jack Ryan,” John told The Wrap. “Kevin Feige called and said would you ever fly to L.A. and play in our sandbox for a day? I was honored to do it. I flew right from Budapest when we wrapped and went right to the Doctor Strange set. I’m a big fan of all those characters and that world, so to get to play in that sandbox for one day was a real thrill.”
