Fox has never had much luck with the Fantastic Four franchise but, whatever the (many) faults of the studio’s three failed attempts to bring Marvel’s first family to life, you have to admit they managed to assemble some top tier talent. Talent that Marvel Studios couldn’t resist mining for their Marvel Cinematic Universe. Famously, former Human Torches Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan both went on to work for the company again, playing Captain America and Black Panther‘s Killmonger, respectively.
Now, another Fantastic Four alumni has come forward to say that he’d love to join the MCU. What’s more, he thinks it would be most interesting if he could pull a Jordan and go over to the dark side. Welsh actor Ioan Gruffudd – who played Reed Richards AKA Mr. Incredible in the 2005 original and its 2007 sequel – was speaking to Digital Spy when he revealed the following:
“I would love that… I just don’t know, in that universe, the Marvel world, would they let me play something else?… I’m sure for Marvel it was a tough decision to pick Chris to play that part [Captain America] because he’d already played one superhero, but what a brilliant decision it was, because he’s wonderful. And Michael B Jordan has played Johnny Storm and he’s amazing in Black Panther as well, so there are precedents set. So we’ll see. Maybe [I could play] a baddie, this time? Now that I’ve established myself as somebody who can do that, that would be great.”
Odds are even more on Gruffudd’s side than he mentions here. As well as Evans and Jordan, a third former Fantastic Four actor has previously signed up for the MCU. Julian McMahon, known to superhero movie fans as the first Doctor Doom, starred in Hulu’s Runaways last year as mysterious villain Jonah. As Gruffudd’s more of a TV star nowadays, perhaps a role in one of Marvel Television’s productions could be on the cards for him, too.
As the actor says above, he’s recently attempted to shift his image to be known for his heroic parts by taking on some darker roles. British drama Liar, for instance, saw him give a chilling performance as a man accused of rape. His latest work follows suit, too, as he’s playing another villain in new crime series Harrow. He’s put Fantastic Four far behind him, then, so it’d certainly be interesting to see what he could do with a Marvel villain, don’t you think?
