‘Fantastic Four’ director speaks out on those rampant casting rumors

If the Marvel Cinematic Universe fandom has proven anything, it’s that the capacity for fan-casting knows no limits. For the upcoming Fantastic Four film especially, the number of pitches that have been put forth for one Reed Richards is enough to create our own multiverse of madness.

Everyone from William Jackson Harper to Henry Cavill has been a front-runner for the smartest man on Earth. Even John Krasinski, who cameoed as a Reed variant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, hasn’t been safe from recast fantasies.

Indeed, Fantastic Four fans look dead set on turning every Hollywood talent agency into a checklist; an endeavor that has found an unlikely supporter in Matt Shakman, who will be directing the MCU’s introduction to Marvel’s first family.

Speaking to ComicBook, Shakman explained that while we won’t be getting any casting announcements for the time being, it warms his heart to see all of the different conversations surrounding them, which to him represents a level of audience engagement that any studio would kill to have.

“There are a lot out there, man. They really are. It’s pretty crazy. As I learned from WandaVision, too, it is so lovely to see the level of engagement that fans have with this material, because I’m a fan too, and I have been reading Fantastic Four since I was a kid. And so I encourage it. I think it’s great.”

So as far as Shakman is concerned, fans can keep pitching their Adam Drivers, Colin Farrells, Adam Sandlers, and Diego Lunas, so long as the hype train for Fantastic Four doesn’t slow down; and let’s face it, it was never going to anyway.

We can, however, rule out the aforementioned Harper, as we know he’ll be bringing telepathic Quantum Realm resident Quaz to life in the upcoming Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, which is set to hit theaters on Feb. 17.