Now that 20th Century Fox’s assets are nestled under the colossal umbrella that is the Walt Disney Company, Marvel Studios has regained control of a number of key properties – namely Deadpool, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men.
All three franchises are expected to be woven into the fabric of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the coming years, though studio head Kevin Feige is clearly in no rush to put the cart before the horse. Which is to say that the forthcoming Fantastic Four reboot will be written, redrafted, and fine-tuned before Disney puts out the inevitable casting call.
Nevertheless, we’ve heard from our sources – the same ones who told us Marvel was developing a She-Hulk show back in April, and that Tom Welling was returning for “Crisis on Infinite Earths,” both of which are now confired – that Dacre Montgomery of Stranger Things and Power Rangers fame is among those being considered for the role of Johnny Storm (AKA the Human Torch), who was previously played by both Chris Evans and in the case of Josh Trank’s much-maligned reboot, Michael B. Jordan. Each actor found superhero redemption within the MCU though, where Evans took on the mantle of Captain America, and Michael B. Jordan assumed control of Wakanda as the villainous Killmonger.
Anyways, providing this intel is on point, Montgomery will already be attached to the MCU by the time Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie takes flight. He’s by no means the only Stranger Things star to emerge on Marvel’s radar, either; Thor: Love and Thunder director Taika Waititi reportedly has his eye trained on Fionn Wolfhard (Mike Wheeler), who can be seen evading Pennywise in the horror mega-hit It: Chapter Two.
As with any Internet scuttlebutt related to the MCU, this latest scoop hasn’t been confirmed by the studio just yet, as Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot is likely nothing more than a collection of ideas stuck to a whiteboard deep within the bowels of Disney HQ… for now. But as soon as we receive further updates, we’ll be sure to let you know.