Marvel’s "The Fantastic Four" Unveils Star-Studded Cast

Marvel Studios has unveiled its starry cast for “Fantastic Four", the first characters created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.

The cast stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing).

Disney has also swapped the release dates of “The Fantastic Four” (now set for July 25, 2025) and “Thunderbolts” (now set for May 2, 2025).

Both movies are two of four Marvel tentpoles currently set to open in 2025, along with “Captain America: Brave New World” in February and “Blade” in November.

There are also four Marvel films set for 2026 release, including “Avengers: The Kang Dynasty.” That’s a ramp-up from 2024: Marvel only has “Deadpool & Wolverine” for theaters, on July 26.

While story details remain scant, per usual with Marvel, but in the comics, the Fantastic Four are astronauts who are remade into superheroes after they’re exposed to cosmic rays in space.

Reed gains the ability to stretch his body to astonishing lengths, Sue, Reed’s girlfriend (and eventual wife), is gifted with manipulating light to become invisible and cast powerful forcefields. Johnny, Sue’s brother, can turn his body into fire which gives him the ability to fly, while Ben, Reed’s best friend, is transformed into a Thing, with giant, orange boulders for a body, giving him super strength — and a perpetual heavy heart about his seemingly monstrous appearance.

Matt Shakman (“WandaVision,” “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) directs “Fantastic Four” from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer.

News of Pascal’s casting first leaked in November, but Marvel had otherwise tried to keep a tight lid on who would play Marvel’s First Family, considered widely to be among the most significant superhero characters ever created. Filming is expected to begin by the summer.

One of Hollywood's most in-demand actors, Pascal will likely first shoot Season 2 of HBO’s “The Last of Us” before stretching into shape to play Richards. After several standout performances on British TV, Quinn broke out as the wily and heartbreaking Eddie Munson on Season 4 of “Stranger Things.” And Moss-Bachrach recently won an Emmy for his performance as Richard “Richie” Jerimovich on FX’s “The Bear.”

Kirby — who first rose to prominence as Princess Margaret in “The Crown” before earning an Oscar nomination for her performance in 2020’s “Pieces of a Woman” — previously teased her desire to take on the Invisible Woman role.

“It would be an honor to play Sue Storm,” Kirby told Variety at the “Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One” premiere in 2023. “She’s amazing.”

Until today, however, the Fantastic Four has not been a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The movie rights belonged instead to 20th Century Fox, which produced three movies with the characters.

“Fantastic Four” and “Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer,” released in 2005 and 2007 respectively, starred Ioan Gruffudd as Reed, Jessica Alba as Sue, Michael Chiklis as Ben and Chris Evans, pre-Captain America, as Johnny.

Fox’s attempt to reboot the franchise in 2015 — with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, and Michael B. Jordan in the respective roles — was a critical and box office bomb.

Four years later, Disney acquired 21st Century Fox, and brought the characters into the Marvel Studios sandbox.

The MCU got its first peek at Reed Richards in 2022’s “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” when John Krasinski played a multiverse variant of the character in a cameo, as a nod to an online fan campaign to cast him in the role.

Typically, the villain for the Fantastic Four is Victor von Doom, one of the most important and fearsome villains in the Marvel canon, however, Marvel has yet to announce who the quartet will battle in this movie.

However, by anointing the full foursome, Marvel Studios is securing the new anchor for the MCU, following the departures of Evans’ Steve Rogers and Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark in “Avengers: Endgame.”