Adam Driver reportedly in final talks to play Reed Richards in Disney’s Fantastic Four reboot
Disney’s highly anticipated Fantastic Four reboot seems to be taking shape, with Adam Driver reportedly in “final talks” to play Reed Richards.
This is far from the first time Driver, 39, has been mentioned in connection with the role, with a January report indicating the Girls star was Marvel’s “top choice” for the role.
Reporter’s latest report Daniel Richtman has yet to be confirmed by Driver and/or Marvel, which probably won’t happen until July at San Diego Comic-Con.
The Fantastic Four reboot was first officially announced in July 2019 at Marvel’s annual San Diego Comic-Con panel, just months after Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the studio that previously owned the franchise managed.
The project — which Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige called a “pillar” of the Marvel Cinematic Universe — wouldn’t be an “origin story” like the previous two films, though little else is known about the plot.
Final talks: Disney’s highly anticipated Fantastic Four reboot seems to be taking shape, with Adam Driver reportedly in ‘final talks’ to play Reed Richards
Reboot: The Fantastic Four reboot was first officially announced in July 2019 at Marvel’s annual San Diego Comic-Con panel, just months after Disney completed its $71.3 billion acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the studio that formerly controlled the franchise
Jon Watts, who directed the latest Spider-Man trilogy, was first announced as director in December 2020, though he stepped down in April 2022 to take a break from superhero projects.
Matt Shakman (WandaVision) was announced to direct in August 2022, and Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer (The Last of the Great Romantics) signed on to write the script in September 2022.
Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water) was brought in last month to rewrite the script and production is set to begin in early 2024.
Disney has already announced a February 14, 2025 release date for the Fantastic Four reboot, which will be part of Phase Six of the MCU.
Created by legendary duo Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four comics debuted in November 1961 with The Fantastic Four #1.
While the comics were adapted into animated TV shows as early as 1967, the first live-action film adaptation didn’t hit theaters until 2005 with 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four.
The film starred Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm aka The Invisible Girl and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm aka The Thing, with Julian McMahon as the villainous Victor Von Doom aka Dr Doom.
The film – directed by Tim Story (Barbershop) grossed $154.6 million domestically and $333.5 million worldwide from a reported budget of $100 million.
Comics: Created by legendary duo Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, the Fantastic Four comics debuted with The Fantastic Four #1 in November 1961
The main cast of characters returned for the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, with Laurence Fishburne voicing The Silver Surfer.
The sequel dropped slightly from the original, earning $131.9 million domestically and $301.9 million worldwide on a budget of $130 million.
The franchise lay dormant for years before 20th Century Fox rebooted the franchise with 2015’s much-maligned Fantastic Four.
Miles Teller (Mr. Fantastic), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm), Kate Mara (The Invisible Girl and Jamie Bell (The Thing) starred with Toby Kebbell as Victor Von Doom.
The project made headlines for a report that surfaced before it hit theaters detailing director Josh Trank’s bizarre behavior, including almost getting into a fight with Teller.
The reboot was critically wrecked, earning only $56.1 million domestically and $167.8 million worldwide on a reported budget of $130 million.
Driver is from the action thriller 65, which hit theaters in early March, and Netflix’s White Noise.
He recently wrapped director Francis Ford Coppola’s highly anticipated passion project Megalopolis, which has no release date yet.
He also stars in Ferrari, playing the founder of luxury automaker Enzo Ferrari, also in post-production with no release date yet.
65: Driver is from the action thriller 65, which hit theaters in early March
Noise: He also recently starred in Netflix’s White Noise