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Fantastic Four casting may focus on Sue Storm, not Reed Richards

Published Feb 18th, 2023 11:17AM EST
Marvel Studios
Image: Marvel Studios

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In a wide-ranging interview about Marvel’s plans for the MCU Phase 5 and 6 now that Quantumania is out, Kevin Feige teased that Fantastic Four will become one of the pillars of the MCU, with more news to come in the near future. That’s an exciting prospect for the highly anticipated team of heroes. But also a puzzling detail considering that Marvel hasn’t yet revealed the actors who will play Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, or Ben Grim.

There’s still plenty of time to find the right team for the reboot, as the movie won’t premiere until mid-February 2025. But a new set of rumors indicates that Marvel might soon have more details to share about the Fantastic Four cast. Apparently, Sue Storm is the primary focus, with reports already delivering a potentially big spoiler about the movie.

Before we can proceed, we’ll warn you that spoilers might follow.

The search for Marvel’s primary Reed Richards has been a focus of the Fantastic Four rumors so far, especially since we saw John Krasinski play Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. That was pure fan service from Marvel, with the actor later confirming that he won’t play the MCU’s main Reed Richards moving forward.

Since Multiverse of Madness, we saw many names that Marvel supposedly considered for the Mister Fantastic role. The most recent front-runner is said to be Dev Patel, although that’s just a rumor.

We’ve also had some Fantastic Four rumors about Sue Storm, but not nearly as many. Marvel might be trying to diversify its superheroes and bring more female leads to the MCU, but the Fantastic Four cast rumors have focused mainly on the male protagonist.

But if Justin Kroll’s sources are accurate, Marvel will actually focus its Fantastic Four casting search on Sue Storm.

Marvel will “begin gearing up [for the] casting process” for Fantastic Four this month with a focus on Sue Storm, according to the leak. The studio will then build the team around her.

In a reply, he said that it could be weeks or even months before we get the four names that we’ve been waiting for. Again, there’s plenty of time to cast the Fantastic Four team before it’s time to shoot the movie.

Who will play Sue Storm?

It doesn’t really matter which of the four Fantastics Marvel casts first. Reed Richards and Sue Storm will always be the focus of these stories, more so than Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm. But Kroll wasn’t the only person talking Fantastic Four rumors this week.

Jeff Sneider addressed the reboot during the latest episode of The Hot Mic podcast.

He said Marvel wants a slightly older Reed Richards and Sue Storm couple. The age detail is important because Marvel wants the two Fantastic Four members to have children in the movie. That means we might meet Franklin and Valeria in the MCU soon.

John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2.
John Krasinski as Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2. Image source: Marvel Studios

The rumor makes sense considering that Marvel is in the process of forming a team of Young Avengers. We just saw the latest potential addition to the team in Quantumania. That’s Cassie (Kathryn Newton), of course.

Sneider said that, as a result, Saoirse Ronan isn’t likely to get the Sue Storm role. She might be too young for Marvel’s needs. The actress appeared in previous rumors concerning the Fantastic Four casting. Sneider didn’t mention other names for Sue Storm.

A few days ago, Mila Kunis entered the conversation for Sue Storm as she was spotted meeting Matt Shakman. That’s the Fantastic Four director, who might be closely involved in the casting process.

I’m only bringing it up because it makes sense in this recent context. Feige started hyping up the Fantastic Four reboot, and now we have rumors about Sue Storm. But there’s no indication that Kunis will become the next Invisible Woman.

Given that Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania doesn’t appear to be the amazing MCU Phase 5 debut we wanted, maybe Marvel will want to change the narrative soon. Revealing Fantastic Four cast details should do the trick.

Chris Smith Senior Writer

Chris Smith has been covering consumer electronics ever since the iPhone revolutionized the industry in 2008. When he’s not writing about the most recent tech news for BGR, he brings his entertainment expertise to Marvel’s Cinematic Universe and other blockbuster franchises.

Outside of work, you’ll catch him streaming almost every new movie and TV show release as soon as it's available.