Planning for one of the summer blockbusters of 2012, currently known as Fantastic Four: Reborn; a reboot of the franchise started in 2005 starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Chris Evan is underway and the internet is quickly filling with rumours about the various cast and crew being looked. With production beginning next week on X-Men: First Class, the next Marvel film the studio are trying to relaunch is Fantastic Four (I was still in a very small minority who enjoyed ‘Silver Surfer’).
The proposed comic book adaptation is being produced by Akiva Goldsman, from a script by Green Lantern co-writer Michael Green.
With such a large selection of characters to cast, there seems to be a never ending forage of rumour and gossip throughout the internet about who is going to play everyone, from Mr Fantastic to Doctor Doom. With names like Bruce Willis, Adrien Brody and Stephen Moyer being mentioned, this is pretty much a waiting game. Until scripts are sent out, auditions are held and pre production is started, every piece of news is pretty much fair game.
So, here is the news laid out, the who, what and where…
Mr Fantastic: Adrien Brody, Jonathan Rhys Meyer
According to screenrant.com, executives are looking for higher calibre actor to take over the role from Ioan Gruffudd from the previous two instalments. Oscar winning Brody would be a huge deal within the comic book film world, as Twentieth Century have already shown with the casting of X-Men: First Class which is due to star James McAvoy, Michael Fassbender, Kevin Bacon and Rose Bryne plus recent success Kick-Ass director, Matthew Vaughn in the director’s seat.
Both actors have tried to expand the sorts of films they star in, as seen in Meyer’s case by appearing in Mission Impossible III and this years From Paris With Love starring John Travolta.
The Invisible Woman: Alice Eve, Amber Heard
Human Torch: Kevin Pennington
The Thing (CGI): Bruce Willis
Doctor Doom: Stephen Moyer (Currently starring in HBO’s True Blood as Bill Compton)
As for the director, Joe Carnahan (Smokin’ Aces, The A-Team), David Yates (Harry Potter) and James McTeigue (V For Vendetta, Ninja Assassin) are all being considered according to ComicBookMovie.com.
What actually happens in the end, is down to whatever direction the studio decides to take the film but by the looks of it, the comic book movie is coming back (did it ever leave?) but in a new guise. A higher class actor and director seems to be the current taste for studios, maybe it’s time the genre was recognised for it?
