It’s believed that Fox’s reboot of Fantastic Four is nearly at the point where it ready to shoot. While there have been casting rumours for months, it’s only now they’re properly started testing actors, starting with Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic) and Sue Storm (The Invisible Girl).
Insiders told Variety that Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Miles Teller (The Spectacular Now) and Jack O’Connell (300: Rise of an Empire) are in line to get test for the Reed Richards role, while Saoirse Ronan (The Host), Kate Mara (Transcendence) and Margot Robbie (About Time) will try out for Sue Storm.
The studio is looking to go much younger with this rebooted version, in hopes of drawing in a new audience to reinvigorate the franchise (although it should be noted Reed Richards was in his 20s in the original comic, so despite the image of his as slightly older, they haven’t completely ditched the character’s origins).
For several months Michael B. Jordan (Chronicle, Fruitvale Station) has been the favourite to play Johnny Storm (The Human Torch), although that may change. No actors have been mentioned in connection with either Ben Grimm (The Thing) or the villain yet.
Simon Kinberg was recently brought on to work on the script, providing a polish. Jeremy Slater, Michael Green, Seth Grahame-Smith and T.S. Nowlin have previously worked on the script. Josh Trank is directing the reboot, with shooting expected to begin in the next few months.