"Fantastic Four" Reboot Casting
When the announcement came that the Fantastic Four was going to be rebooted (i.e. start over, scrap the current cast, etc), I thought that it would make a bit of news. But there are now several discussions on who should play the main roles.
For me, the cast of the first two movies was not bad. Chris Evans was pretty close to perfect as Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis was a convincing Ben Grimm. I didn't have a huge problem with Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, although I thought he should have been played with more confidence - heck, he's the most intelligent man in the world!
I didn't think Sue Storm and Doctor Doom were well cast - in fact, neither of them worked for me. I *loved* Jessica Alba in "Dark Angel" and in "Sin City"...but she was simply miscast and mis-scripted as Sue Storm. I don't even want to talk about Doom. Julian McMahon was wrong for the part, and then the writers missed the essence of the character completely with the whole 'living metal' thing they did. Just awful.
MTV and Screen Rant both have posted articles on who they think should be a part of the new cast.
MTV goes with this lineup:
- George Clooney as Reed Richards
- Elizabeth Mitchell as Sue Storm
- Ryan Kwanten as Johnny Storm
- Chris Bauer as Ben Grimm
- Stellan Skarsgård as Victor Von Doom
Screen Rant counters with:
- Matthew Morrison as Reed Richards
- Jessalyn Gilsig as Sue Storm
- Ryan Kwanten as Johnny Storm
- Chris Bauer as Ben Grimm
- Stellan Skarsgård as Victor Von Doom
These casting ideas are solid, but somehow don't seem quite right to me. Clooney is a fantastic actor and could certainly pull off the confidence of the most intelligent man in the world...but somehow seems wrong. I was not a fan of Jessalyn Gilsig in, well, basically anything that she has done - she has an edge of crazy to her work, which is the opposite of Sue Storm's consistency.
Finally, both lists are enamored with the guys from "True Blood" (Kwanten is "Jason Stackhouse", and Bauer is "Detective Andy Bellefleur"). They also don't seem exactly right to me. However, I have only seen them on "True Blood", so they may be able to grow into the roles.
If I were doing the casting, I'd want the cast to look right, interact well, and to not have 'made it' yet, so that they could cameo in other Marvel comic movies (hey - I am selfish that way). So, without further ado, here are my picks:
Misha Collins as Reed Richards
I have to give credit to a commenter on Screen Rant's post for this suggestion. As the angel Castiel on "Supernatural", he's been a complete find. He's great, and I think he can convey everything about Reed that we need.
Yvonne Strahovski as Sue Storm
Yvonne is best known for playing "Sarah Walker" in one of my favorite shows, "Chuck". She's my pick for Sue as she completely looks the part, and, from what I have seen in "Chuck", can play the protective older sister as well as the neglected love interest. And, she rivals Alba in looks, which doesn't hurt one bit!
Justin Hartley as Johnny Storm For the record, they should bring Chris Evans back. But, since that doesn't sound possible, a flyer on Hartley might not be a bad idea. He has the look. Even with my dislike of "Smallville", he was fairly interesting as "Oliver Queen" during his stint. So, it's risky, but I think he just might be a diamond in the rough.
Domenick Lombardozzi as Ben Grimm
Credit has to go to Screen Rant for this suggestion, as he was one of their runner-ups to Chris Bauer for the role. I think he blows Bauer out of the competition. He looks the part, sounds the part and is a true New Yorker. He's probably the most likely actual casting of my list!
Tahmoh Penikett as Victor Von Doom
Admittedly, this is a bit of a stab in the dark. But, Tahmoh is physically imposing and can play a tortured soul. I think he might work as the man behind the mask. And, he couldn't be worse than Julian McMahon, right?
