It looks as though actor Dan Fogler is attracted to projects with Fantastic in the title. Having played Jacob Kowalski in three Fantastic Beasts movies, he now has his eye set on the Fantastic Four. Someone on Twitter fan-cast Fogler as Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Fogler responded saying it would be a dream role.
Fantastic Four has not had an auspicious time in Hollywood so far, with it seemingly being revived once per decade in the hope it will finally stick. There was the 2005 movie, which starred Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm (and notably featured Chris Evans as Johnny Storm).
A decade later, in 2015, there was another attempt – this time with Jamie Bell as a younger version of Ben Grimm. Now that Fantastic Four has officially been subsumed into the MCU, we will be getting yet another movie. To fit in with the decade-gap pattern, it should really come out in 2025, but according to Kevin Feige’s recent SDCC announcement, it is currently set for November 2024.
The twitter user named Jon said; “So many Fantastic 4 fan casts get really lazy with The Thing. The perfect Ben Grimm casting would be an actor who you could easily envision as Jack Kirby in a biopic so that’s why I’m currently landing on Dan Fogler.” Fogler responded with; “Made my day all the way to Yancy Street. Thanks for thinking of me folks. Dream role.”
Fogler is showing his comics knowledge here, as 4 Yancy Street was a building that Grimm owned and he let the Fantastic Four use as their headquarters, after the Baxter Building had fallen into the wrong hands.
Marvel fans have had strong ideas about Fantastic Four casting for years. John Krasinski recently played Reed Richards in Doctor Strange 2, (he had been fan-cast in that role for years) but seems unlikely to return for the movie. But remember, the multiverse makes anything possible.
While we wait for more Fantastic Four news, stay up-to-date with the latest on Marvel’s Phase Four.