After years of speculation, Marvel Studios has finally arrived at the quartet of actors who will play the Fantastic Four.
Marvel has announced that the cast for their upcoming superhero family team film will be as follows – played by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm aka the Thing.
The Fantastic Four first premiered in comics in November 1961. Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the book, which featured a quartet of superheroes who received their powers after an unauthorized rocket test flight takes them through a radiation storm. They all lived together in a somewhat unconventional family unit – Sue and Johnny are siblings and Reed and Sue are romantically involved – when not fighting alien invaders and science-based bad guys. The book was an almost immediate hit for the struggling Marvel Comics company, and Lee as editor-in-chief would launch a number of other superhero titles that played with the formula of grounding the hero characters with relatable character traits and problems.
No other announcements were made in terms of who may be playing supporting roles or villains from the group’s 63 year history, so fans will still have to wait to find if characters like Alicia Masters, Willie Lumpkin, Wyatt Wingfoot, Dr. Doom, the Puppet Master and more will be appearing in the film.
Fantastic Four is currently set for theaters on July 25, 2025 as part of their Phase Six cycle of superhero films, which will serve as the culmination of the last several years of movies released, under the banner title of “The Multiverse Saga.”
Fans have been anticipating the arrival of the Fantastic Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe since the film rights holder Twentieth Century Fox was acquired by Disney, Marvel Studios’ parent corporation. Marvel first officially announced that a Fantastic Four movie was in the works at San Diego Comic Con in July 2022 when it unveiled a number of the films that will comprise a good portion of their Phase 5 and Phase 6 set of films. Originally Marvel was working with Spider-Man: Far From Home helmer Jon Watts as director of the film, but it was announced back in May 2022 that Watts was leaving the project to take on Star Wars: Skeleton Crew for Disney+. Matt Shakman was later brought in to continue the process of getting the project onto the big screen.
While at Fox, three attempts were made to bring the superpowered family to the big screen, though none of them were well received by audiences and critics.
