After appearing as a menacing villain in the new Star Wars trilogy, Adam Driver is trading in his dark garb and helmet for superhero gear.
The actor has reportedly accepted an offer to appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe as the iconic character Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic.
Driver brings another award-nominated actor into the MCU, following in the footsteps of stars, including Scarlett Johansson, Robert Downey Jr., and Benedict Cumberbatch.
Best known for portraying Kylo Ren in the new Star Wars films, many fans might see him mostly as portraying dark and brooding characters.
The actor has appeared in a range of roles, showing his ability to take on different characters or personalities.
Here are more details on Driver’s involvement in the MCU as Reed Richards and what else is known about the upcoming Fantastic Four film so far.
Driver to play Reed Richards in the Fantastic Four movie
As the MCU continues to evolve into its next phases, Driver will portray the leader of the comic book group, the Fantastic Four.
Per SuperHeroHype, rumors were circulating that Driver was offered the role, but based on a recent tweet from a known MCU leaker, it’s now being reported he’s accepted the role.
Based on rumors, Driver was also offered the role of the Fantastic Four’s iconic villain, Doctor Doom. However, he reportedly preferred the part of the leader of the superhero group.
It’s possible that Driver was looking to escape the typecasting that comes along with playing a villain in multiple projects, especially one operating from under a menacing mask.
Reed Richards becomes Mister Fantastic in the popular comic books after he and his four-person team are exposed to cosmic rays, giving them superhuman abilities. For Richards, that ability is bending and stretching his body in various ways, including extending his arms, legs, and torso to extraordinary lengths.
The character has been portrayed in several movies over the years. Actor Ioan Gruffudd played the role in two films from 20th Century Fox directed by Tim Story. Those movies arrived in 2005 and 2007 and also featured Chris Evans as Johnny Blaze, aka Human Torch. Evans went on to become better known as Captain America in the MCU.
Actor Miles Teller took on the Richards role in the Fantastic Four reboot in 2015, which ended up as a flop. More recently, John Krasinski appeared as an alternate version of Reed Richards in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. While that movie was from Marvel, Krasinki’s version of the character may have been one and done in the MCU.
What else is known about the Fantastic Four movie?
As of this writing, it’s known that Matt Shackman will direct the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Shackman directed the critically-acclaimed and award-nominated Disney Plus series, WandaVision, which had a different look and feel than other MCU projects.
It’s still unclear who might join Driver in the four-person superhero group. Monsters and Critics reported about speculation that Mila Kunis might play The Thing, a casting choice that took a lot of people by surprise.
It’s also been rumored Kunis could have been in talks for the role of Reed Richards’ leading lady, Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman. The character was a blonde in the comics and has been portrayed by Jessica Alba and Kate Mara in previous F4 films.
The Emergency Awesome video below also mentions the possibility that actors Allison Williams or Jodie Comer could take on the role of Sue Storm. As of this writing, it’s unknown who will possibly play Human Torch or The Thing, despite the rumors of Kunis maybe giving the character a different look.
The specifics of the story and villains of the film are also unclear, but it won’t be an origin story, per Kevin Feige’s comments in 2022.
“A lot of people know this origin story. A lot of people know the basics. How do we take that and bring something that they’ve never seen before?” Feige said of the project, adding they “set a very high bar” for bringing the iconic group to the screen.
As for villains, Fantastic Four comics have featured plenty of nemeses. Victor Von Doom, aka Doctor Doom, is considered one of the most iconic, so he could likely be introduced as the villain in the MCU’s F4 film. However, they are others to choose from, including Mole Man, the Puppet Master, and Galactus.
It’s also possible to connect the group with other villains that have popped up in previous MCU projects, including the Skrulls, Kang the Conqueror, and Namor, as they’ve appeared as antagonists for the superhero team in the comics.
The Fantastic Four movie is still a few years away, as it will be part of Phase Six of the MCU. Based on previous reports, there’s an expected release date of February 14, 2025, to see Driver and others as the famous superhero team.