Twenty years ago, Ioan Gruffudd played Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, the first live-action movie based on Marvel’s first family (not counting the unreleased Roger Corman version). Despite the largely negative reviews, the film still did well at the box office, grossing $333.5 million on a budget of less than $100 million. A sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, followed two years later and was met with a slightly warmer reception and grossed over $300 million. As the cast had signed a three-picture deal, they were all expecting to return for one more movie… but it never happened.
While speaking with Vulture, Gruffudd commented on the unmade Fantastic Four 3. “The mindset was that we were going to do three, and I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans,” he explained. “I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [who played the Silver Surfer] on that movie, who’s just a terrific artist and an expert in the field of movement. If you want to witness somebody bringing a character to life physically, he’s just untouchable.“
Gruffudd continued, “So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control.” In the end, 20th Century Fox decided to reboot the franchise with Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four, a film that certainly didn’t end up becoming a dumpster fire. Thankfully, Marvel seems to have finally gotten it right with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
As Gruffudd’s Fantastic Four co-star Chris Evans returned in Deadpool & Wolverine, which he called “a true delight,” could he see himself returning as a Mister Fantastic Variant? “I’m not in the new movie. Fans are convinced that I’m going to be in a particular aspect of this universe that hasn’t been written or filmed yet,” he said. “But this idea of people showing up has been introduced, like Chris in Deadpool, or I think Mister Fantastic appeared in the guise of John Krasinski at one point. So, no, I haven’t been approached to reprise Mister Fantastic. But you never know.“
Our own Chris Bumbray said that The Fantastic Four: First Steps surprised him. “I’ve been burned out on both Marvel and superhero films in general, but this one got me to care again,” he wrote, adding that creatively, “it’s the best Marvel movie in a long time.” You can check out the rest of his review right here, and don’t forget to let us know what you thought of the film as well!
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed