Even with the SAG-AFTRA strike now over, we still don’t have a confirmed Fantastic Four cast. Vanessa Kirby remains the apparent frontrunner to play Invisible Woman, with The Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal seemingly a lock for Mister Fantastic.
When it comes to the rest of Marvel’s First Family, we’re less certain.
We believe Andor star Ebon Moss-Bacharach will play The Thing, with Paul Mescal said to be a likely Human Torch for a time. Since then, Joseph Quinn has emerged as the new favourite. It's all a little dizzying, and we won’t know for sure until an official announcement is made by Marvel Studios!
You may recall Scream star Mason Gooding taking to social media earlier this year to reveal his interest in playing Johnny Storm. In the weeks that followed, his name entered the rumour mill and has repeatedly come up in connection to the character since. Alas, with the aforementioned cast reveal said to be heading our way any day now, Gooding seems to have taken himself out of the running.
"Flame off," he said in a social media post many fans have taken as confirmation the actor has received bad news from Marvel Studios. Gooding would have been an interesting choice to play Johnny, though it’s hard to imagine Marvel Studios wanting to repeat history by courting the same level of controversy the 2015 reboot did when it depicted Sue and Johnny as not being blood relatives.
Kevin Feige is said to have prioritised not casting an all-white Fantastic Four, hence why Pascal is very nearly confirmed as the MCU's Reed Richards.
In the comics, the Human Torch is a founding member of the Fantastic Four. Introduced in 1961, he was writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby's reinvention of a similar, previous character, the android Human Torch of the same name and powers who was created in 1939 by writer-artist Carl Burgos for Marvel Comics' predecessor company, Timely Comics.
After gaining his powers in the same accident as his teammates, Johnny discovered he could engulf his entire body in flames, fly, absorb fire harmlessly into his own body, and control any nearby fire by sheer force of will. "Flame on!", which the Torch customarily shouts when activating his full-body flame effect, has become his catchphrase. The youngest of the group, he is brash and impetuous in comparison to his reticent, overprotective and compassionate older sister, Sue, his sensible brother-in-law, Reed, and the often surly ever-lovin’ blue eyed Ben Grimm.
Director Matt Shakman has worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on the latest draft of Fantastic Four's screenplay. The movie is currently scheduled to be released in theaters on May 2, 2025.