The Marvel Cinematic Universe will be making big changes in the next few years. We’ve now got the Infinity Saga firmly in the rearview and, after several years of very mixed multiversal storytelling, things are on the verge of coming together. And there’s the small matter of both the X-Men and the Fantastic Four joining the fray.
MCU devotees cannot wait to see these superteams make their way into the franchise, bringing some of the best Marvel characters together for the first time. These new movies, though, raise an inevitable question: who will play these characters as the Marvel movies in order continue on the big screen?
Someone who might have a bit of insight is Simon Kinberg, who has been a writer and producer on many of the X-Men movies in order since 2006, as well as 2015’s Fantastic Four. He stepped into the director’s chair for Dark Phoenix in 2019. We think it’s fair to call him an expert.
Casting rumors have been all over the place for the last few years, with one of the biggest even referenced on screen when John Krasinski popped up as an alternative-universe version of Mr Fantastic in Doctor Strange 2.
Sorry fans, but Kinberg told Radio Times he isn’t sure that these rumors will pan out. “All of those actors I’ve seen [rumored], that are Oscar nominated and winning and Emmy nominated, are cool. I’m like any fan, I’m excited to see who they actually end up casting and I have a feeling it’ll be none of the people that have been theorized, but who knows.”
Kinberg continued: “As someone who made a Fantastic Four movie and rewrote the other one and loves the comics, I’m really excited to see again what Kevin and the MCU can do with it.
“It’s a comic I know Kevin loves and it’s a tone that’s hard to get right because it can go goofy really fast. But I think if it stays about a family and it can have the humor, obviously, that it needs to have, but can still have moments of real pathos and family drama, it’ll be amazing.”
The take-home message, though, is that Kinberg reckons your fan casting is fun – but ultimately nonsense. We’re inclined to agree. Marvel is keen to pull the rug from under fans and surprise us all. At this point, casting John Krasinski as Reed Richards or Daniel Radcliffe as Wolvering would be the opposite of a surprise.
You can find out more about upcoming Marvel movies with our guide to Marvel Phase 5 and we’ve also got in-depth guides to The Marvels and Deadpool 3. Meanwhile, learn why Deadpool’s version of the Spider-Verse could be truly chaotic and find out about the Loki season 2 trailer Easter eggs. Elsewhere, check in on everything that’s new on Disney Plus.