The rumours on this one have dragged on for ages, with speculation, alleged revelations, denials and counter-announcements from many of the usual sources. Now, though, with the clock ticking and director Josh Trank set to start making the new Fantastic Four film this summer, the various US trade mags are reporting that Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara and Jamie Bell have made the cut as the fresh faces of the superhero team.
20th Century Fox has been trying to get the updated version of the Marvel heroes moving for a while now, auditioning and testing a variety of actors to play stretchy genius Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, science whizz and see-through heroine Sue Storm/Invisible Girl, hot-tempered (and flame-able) Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and rocky stalwart Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Jordan in particular has reportedly been in the mix as Johnny Storm for a long time, partly thanks to his prior working relationship with Trank on Chronicle and partly because Fox has an option on him as part of his contract from that film. Teller (Richards) and Mara (Sue Storm), meanwhile, have been favourites for a while, though there is apparently some question over Teller’s availability: he’s committed to Divergent sequel Insurgent and there are other projects jockeying for his time, so a final deal there may have to first take his schedule into account.
Bell, meanwhile, is a new name in the mix, though The Wrap attributes that to the fact that the process to find someone to play Ben Grimm has been arduous. Bell brings both chops and experience with performance capture technology, which will come in handy for creating the character, last played by Michael Chiklis under stifling latex. Bell's a little smaller than the average Thing, but the performance capture should sort that out nicely.
As of right now, all four casting choices can still be considered floating in the rumour void as neither 20th Century Fox nor Trank have made any official announcement. Still, given the flurry of sudden stories, expect that situation to change soon, even if we have to endure another round of denials before the final names emerge. From the sounds of it, though, we may finally have our Four. What say you of these plucky wannabe heroes? Fantastic? Or not what you hoped?
And whoeever ends up in the super-suits, The Fantastic Four is scheduled to arrive on June 18, 2015.