And Then There Were Four

The rumours have been rife for weeks, but Jessica Alba has finally signed on as Sue Storm aka the Invisible Girl in The Fantastic Four, completing a line-up that includes Ioan Gruffudd, Michael Chiklis and Chris Evans (the upcoming star of Cellular, not the annoying ginger-haired TV presenter). Alba, who got her big break in James Cameron's dark sci-fi series Dark Angel, recently starred in Honey and is currently filming a segment of Sin City, pipped the likes of Rachel McAdams (Mean Girls) and Elizabeth Banks (Spider-Man's Betty Brant) to bag the plum role of Sue Storm, sister to the Human Torch (Evans) and love interest to Mr Fantastic (Gruffudd). FYI, Sue Storm is a wannabe actress who develops the ability to disappear after the space shuttle she is travelling on with her three companions is caught in a barrage of cosmic rays. Together, they become the Earth's premier superhero team, saving the world from the villainous intentions of metal-cased nutjob, Dr. Doom (casting for whom has not yet been announced, although Ray Liotta is rumoured). The casting of Alba - in addition to the rest of the bright young things (and Chiklis) may raise some eyebrows over the direction in which Fox and Marvel are taking one of their biggest properties. But when we spoke to Marvel Films chief, Avi Arad, at the Spider-Man 2 premiere on Monday, he assured us that everything was moving in the right direction. "It's funny, high adventure," he said, confirming rumours that that the Tim Story-directed movie will be primarily a comedy. "But you are going to tear up too. It's a bittersweet comedy." But what of Dr. Doom who, as Marvel aficionados, is so evil that he might not transfer very well to a knockabout laughfest. "Dr. Doom is going to be amazing," said Arad. So he won't be comic relief, then? "No, serious. Human, and serious. It works!" We'll trust you, Avi, we'll trust you. Filming on FF stars in Vancouver in a couple of weeks.