The Krasinski-Blunt rollercoaster ride continues with another development from none other than the popular Hollywood actress herself. Marvel fans dying to see the Fantastic Four reboot in the MCU are probably well aware that real-life husband and wife John Krasinski and Emily Blunt are fan favorites for the superhero duo Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. We’ve seen various reports claiming that Marvel has already met with the two in order to discuss the possibilities surrounding Fantastic Four. Some reports claimed that a deal was close while others said that the two actors are not interested in the movie. We’ve also learned that Jennifer Lawrence might be in the running for the Sue Storm role that Marvel is considering. And just when you think you’re done with the Fantastic Four cast rumors, they reappear.
Emily Blunt addressed these rumors in the best possible way in a new interview, seemingly dispelling the notion that she and her husband are in the upcoming MCU picture.
Speaking with Howard Stern about her A Quiet Place Part II that premieres later this month, the actress also talked about the rumored Edge of Tomorrow 2 sequel and Fantastic Four rumors.
Blunt said that Edge of Tomorrow 2 is the kind of big-budget film that’s not feasible for the time being, given the massive costs involved. More interesting for Marvel fans are her comments on Fantastic Four, however. “That is fan-casting. No one has received a phone call,” Blunt told Howard about rumors of her potential involvement with Fantastic Four. “That’s just people saying, ‘Wouldn’t that be great?’”
When asked whether the superhero movie genre is beneath her, Blunt said that superhero movies aren’t her favorite. “It’s not that it’s beneath me,” Blunt responded. “I love Iron Man, and when I got offered Black Widow, I was obsessed with Iron Man. I wanted to work with Robert Downey Jr. It would’ve been amazing… but I don’t know if superhero movies are for me. They’re not up my alley. I don’t like them. I really don’t.”
Blunt said that watching superhero movies left her feeling “a bit cold.” But even so, she would consider exciting projects. “It’s been exhausted,” she said. “We are inundated — it’s not only all the movies, it’s the endless TV shows as well. It’s not to say that I’d never want to play one, it would just have to be something so cool and like a really cool character, and then I’d be interested.”
Black Widow might’ve been a cool enough role for Blunt, but things didn’t come together. We’ve always known she turned down the role, and now we know why: her pre-existing contractual obligations at the time the Black Widow opportunity rolled along. “I actually do want to clean up the story,” she told Howard. “I was contracted to do Gulliver’s Travels. I didn’t want to do Gulliver’s Travels.”
A few days ago, we saw Amazing Spider-Man actor Andrew Garfield deny that he’ll appear in Spider-Man: No Way Home. He toned down his denial just a few days later, suggesting that he might be in the picture after all. This is one of the worst-kept secrets in Hollywood right now — that Spider-Man 3 will be a multiverse film and old Spider-Man characters will show up. But Sony and Marvel are still trying to prevent anyone from confirming that the film will have several Spider-Men in it.
Spider-Man 3 aside, other actors cast for major Marvel roles have denied reports that disclosed their involvement in the MCU before Marvel was ready to confirm the news. So it’s not surprising to see Emily Blunt say that she’s not going to be in Fantastic Four. On the other hand, not everyone who denies having scored a Marvel role is lying to protect Marvel’s secrets.
If Marvel did ink a deal with Krasinski and Blunt for Fantastic Four, the actress did a great job denying her involvement in the upcoming blockbuster. There’s no better excuse to dismiss rumors than saying you don’t even like superhero movies, to begin with. But Blunt did leave a door open to the possibility of appearing in the MCU. Not to mention that she confirmed her interest in playing Black Widow, which indicates she’s clearly open to superhero roles that might be offered to her. And we do know that her husband wanted to be in the MCU, but he lost out on the Captain America role to Chris Evans.
Fantastic Four is expected to premiere in 2023, possibly in late July, so shooting will have to start at some point next year. Marvel has only announced the film’s director so far, Jon Watts, but it’ll soon have to reveal the entire cast.
