After years of residing in limbo and teetering on the edge of having the rights revert back to Marvel, 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four reboot has emerged as one of the movies I’m most curious to see in 2015. Chronicle director Josh Trank is at the helm, and we finally know who will be suiting up as the titular super-family this time around.
Miles Teller will play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Kate Mara is set for the role of Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Michael B. Jordan will play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Jamie Bell will play Ben Grimm/The Thing. Since that particular bit of casting news broke, fans have been eagerly waiting to see who would land the coveted role of the team’s nemesis, Doctor Doom. Early rumors suggested the part may go to a woman rather than a man, but it seems Fox doesn’t want to invite too much controversy, as a recently released shortlist contains the names of four male actors.
The news comes courtesy of The Wrap, who claim that the final four candidates are:
- Sam Riley (On the Road)
- Eddie Redmayne (Les Miserables)
- Toby Kebbel (Wrath of the Titans)
- Domhnall Gleeson (About Time)
The first thing you may notice is that these actors are all relatively young, up-and-coming stars. This was to be expected, since the actors set to play the Fantastic Four all also fit that description, and it’s clear that Fox is attempting to craft an enduring franchise here. As far as the actors now in contention to play Doctor Doom go, they’re all interesting choices and not the least bit as potentially controversial as Michael B. Jordan (the first black Human Torch) and Jamie Bell (whose slender frame makes him one of the last actors people would peg as the hulking, muscular Thing).
Riley is a relative unknown, though his star is definitely on the rise thanks to his breakout role in On the Road and a part in the upcoming Maleficent. Redmayne’s name had previously been thrown around a lot by comic-book aficionados, and he’s certainly proven himself as a serious actor in films like Les Miserables and My Week With Marilyn. Kebbel already has his foot in the door over at Fox, starring as Caesar’s rival Koba in Dawn of the Planet of the Apes, so that could potentially give him an advantage. Gleeson is the outlier here, starring mostly as nerdy good guys in the Harry Potter franchise, About Time and Frank (though he was incredibly creepy in Dredd).Â
Overall, assuming that The Wrap’s source can be trusted, this is a solid list of actors for the studio to choose from. However, I am a bit bummed that Fox doesn’t seem to be considering making Dr. Doom a woman. That would certainly be an interesting and bold angle for them to take. Think about it, how many female supervillains are there on screen? I bet you could count all the memorable ones on one hand. It seems a shame to totally rule out the possibility.
With production expected to start soon as Fantastic Four moves swiftly towards its June 2015 release date, we should hear official casting news on the baddie shortly. When we do, we’ll let you know.
