The world is only just recovering from the since-debunked rumor claiming Mila Kunis was in talks to play The Thing in the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Fantastic Four reboot, and a new contender for Ben Grimm has already emerged.
The claims that the actress could potentially either be wearing a mo-cap onesie or sitting in the makeup chair for hours at a time seemed somewhere between fanciful and preposterous to begin with, and comic book purists breathed a sigh of relief when she confirmed that she isn’t going to be a part of director Matt Shakman’s cosmic caper.
On the other hand, Kunis did offer that she knows the identity of the titular team, which is no doubt something Shakman would have shared when they had the luncheon that set the scuttlebutt off to the races in the first place. The sooner the cast is announced the better, if we’re being honest, with the constant carousel of whispers and hearsay having long since grown tiring.
That being said, it hasn’t taken long for a brand new contender to emerge from the pack, with self-styled “insider” Daniel Richtman offering that Academy Award nominee and Gladiator 2 headliner Paul Mescal is now Marvel’s number one choice for the part. He’s a talented actor for sure, but is playing an ensemble-based recurring gig in the MCU really what he’s after at this stage in his career?
Obviously, money talks louder than anything else at the end of the day, but let’s hope the situation gets cleared up sooner rather than later.
