Sony Pictures/Marvel Comics
Marvel Cinematic Universe fans hoping for Adam Driver to be cast as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic might have been dealt a fatal blow over the weekend.
The 39-year-old Driver has been named as a potential choice to play Reed Richards in the MCU for years now. Unfortunately for fans, though, the Academy Award nominee apparently passed on the role a while ago as he wasn’t able to connect with the script.
This comes from someone apparently working on the Fantastic Four movie. They said that Adam Driver was never really engaged in this. They sent Adam Driver the script a while back and he said that he couldn’t connect with the character on the page, and he passed very early on.” [via The Hot Mic]
Granted, the source of the information isn’t the most reputable, as The Hot Mic will often share rumors that are later debunked, such as when they claimed earlier this year that Ben Affleck would be directing The Brave and the Bold for DC Studios.
Similarly, though, Driver — one of the best actors of his generation — not buying into one of Marvel’s likely thin scripts certainly isn’t all that surprising.
Despite being announced years ago, having a director attached (WandaVision’s Matt Shakman), and being dated for 2025, not a single cast member for Fantastic Four has been locked in, which becomes increasingly worrying considering how key “Marvel’s First Family” will likely be to the future of the franchise.
In addition to Driver, recent casting rumors regarding Fantastic Four have seen the likes of Oscar-nominee Vanessa Kirby attached to the role of Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman, Paul Mescal to the part of Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and both Daveed Diggs and Ebon Moss-Bachrach mentioned as potential candidates for Ben Grimm/The Thing.
At this time, Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to release in movie theaters on May 2, 2025.