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Everyone’s feeling fantastic about the new Fantastic Four. After years of fan-casting and rumors, Marvel announced the actors who would be taking on the roles of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm in a 2024 Valentine’s Day message.
This won’t be the first time these Fantastic Four characters have been seen on the big screen. Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis starred in the 2005 film adaptation and the 2007 sequel. Chris went on to nab the role of Steve Rogers/Captain America and helped shape the MCU into what it is today.
A reboot with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, and Jamie Bell was released in 2015. The film was unfortunately a box office bomb. The rights to the Fantastic Four characters reverted to Marvel Studios when Disney acquired 21st Century Fox in 2019.
So, what do we know about the new Fantastic Four? When is it coming out? Hollywood Life is breaking down everything we know so far.
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.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family! Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.
Marvel Studios’ #TheFantasticFour, in theaters July 25, 2025. pic.twitter.com/dOmLG0m7ie
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 14, 2024
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 and has been cast in a key Gladiator sequel role. He also stars alongside Lupita Nyong’o in the upcoming 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.
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 currently has a release date of May 2, 2025. At San Diego Comic Con in 2022, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed that Fantastic Four was going to kick off Phase 6 of the MCU and would hit theaters on November 8, 2024. Marvel later pushed Fantastic Four and several other projects in the works to later dates. Fantastic Four took over the May 2025 release date for Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.
Fantastic Four will be 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?
John Krasinski’s brief run as Mr. Fantastic is likely 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.”
