Having recently reacquired the rights to the Fantastic Four characters in Disney’s latest merger, Marvel Studios is hoping for a “third time lucky” situation with the franchise. Fox took its first crack at the property in 2005 with director Tim Story bringing a lighthearted tone to the proceedings, but it didn’t make it past two movies.
Then, the studio took another crack in 2015 with Josh Trank bringing a dark, gritty tone that was massively reshaped by executives into something they hoped would be more agreeable to moviegoers across the board. A few big stars were considered to appear in those movies.
10 Hugh Jackman As Reed Richards
The studio’s first choice to play Reed Richards in 2005’s Fantastic Four was Hugh Jackman. However, he turned down the part due to his commitment to the X-Men franchise. He ended up cameoing as Wolverine when Reed accidentally morphs into him.
Before Ioan Gruffudd was cast in the role, the studio considered George Clooney, Brendan Fraser, and Patrick Wilson for the part.
9 Scarlett Johansson As Sue Storm
Prior to the casting of Jessica Alba, a number of actors were considered for the role of Sue Storm in the initial 2005 movie: Elizabeth Banks, Kate Bosworth, Scarlett Johansson, Ali Larter, Rachel McAdams, and Julia Stiles.
Johansson, of course, went on to play Black Widow in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, while Rachel McAdams played love interest Christine Palmer in Doctor Strange.
8 Paul Walker As Johnny Storm
The late Paul Walker was considered to play Johnny Storm before Chris Evans was chosen. Walker eventually starred in a kind of superhero franchise when The Fast and the Furious movies evolved into high-octane actioners about increasingly insane feats of car-based carnage.
Evans’ history of playing the Human Torch eventually made him one of the only actors in the MCU to have previously played a different Marvel hero when he was cast as Captain America.
7 Bruce Willis As Ben Grimm
Bruce Willis was considered for the role of Ben Grimm in the original 2005 Fantastic Four movie. He was also up for the part in the 2015 reboot when Harry Potter director David Yates was in line to helm the project.
Before Michael Chiklis of The Shield fame was eventually cast as the Thing, David Boreanaz, Nathan Fillion, and fellow TV antihero James Gandolfini were considered for the part.
6 Nicolas Cage As Doctor Doom
Nicolas Cage was initially cast as Doctor Doom in the 2005 Fantastic Four movie. The casting got far enough into pre-production that concept art for the character was modeled after Cage’s likeness.
Cage eventually dropped out, giving no official reason, and he didn’t appear in a Marvel movie until he was cast to play Johnny Blaze in the Ghost Rider franchise.
5 Djimon Hounsou As The Silver Surfer
Before Laurence Fishburne was cast as the Silver Surfer in the 2007 sequel to Fantastic Four, aptly dubbed Rise of the Silver Surfer, Djimon Hounsou, Timothy Olyphant, and Gary Sinise all auditioned for the part.
Hounsou was instead cast to play Black Panther in a possible third installment, but it got called off after Rise of the Silver Surfer’s tepid box office returns. He’s since played Korath the Pursuer in the MCU.
4 Mads Mikkelsen As Reed Richards
Mads Mikkelsen read for the role of Reed Richards in the 2015 Fantastic Four reboot, presumably when the script was very different than the soft Y.A. novel it ended up being. However, Mikkelsen walked out of his audition when he was told to stretch out his arms as far as he could. The actor went on to play the villainous Kaecilius in Doctor Strange.
Before Miles Teller was cast as Richards, the producers screen-tested Kit Harington, Richard Madden, Jack O’Connell, and Anton Yelchin for the part. Harington and Madden are set to join the MCU in the Eternals movie.
3 Margot Robbie As Sue Storm
Margot Robbie, Saoirse Ronan, Emmy Rossum, and Allison Williams all screen-tested for the role of Sue Storm in the 2015 reboot of the Fantastic Four franchise. Ronan was also considered for Scarlet Witch in Avengers: Age of Ultron in the same year.
Robbie instead went on to play a DC role, Harley Quinn, starting with Suicide Squad and continuing into the much better Birds of Prey.
2 Christian Cooke As Ben Grimm
Before Billy Elliot’s Jamie Bell was cast to play Ben Grimm in the 2015 reboot that, for whatever reason, took away the Thing’s iconic shorts, Christian Cooke auditioned for the role.
One of Cooke’s highest-profile roles is Mercutio in the Romeo & Juliet adaptation that starred Douglas Booth and Hailee Steinfeld as the titular star-crossed lovers.
1 Eddie Redmayne As Doctor Doom
Toby Kebbell ended up being cast as Doctor Doom in Fant4stic, but Domhnall Gleeson, Jack Huston, Eddie Redmayne, and Sam Riley all screen-tested for the part. Redmayne had previously been considered to play Star-Lord, Magneto, and Harry Osborn in different Marvel movies.
In the end, Kebbell didn’t even play much of Doom himself as Fox executives took over the edit and turned him into a hideous CGI crash test dummy.
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