The Fantastic Four Actor Nearly Turned Down MCU Reboot Over Past Flops

June 1, 20243 Mins Read

Acclaimed actor Paul Walter Hauser is making his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut with a mystery role in the upcoming film The Fantastic Four. However, the casting almost didn’t happen, as Hauser was concerned about how well a new Fantastic Four film would be received.

In a conversation with The Hollywood Reporter, Hauser commented on how previous Fantastic Four adaptations did not land very well with fans. The last live-action adaptation, released by director Josh Trank in 2015, was particularly unsuccessful, bombing at the box office and garnering abysmal reviews. Hauser admitted that these kinds of missteps taken with the franchise had him feeling leery about signing on for the MCU’s new take on the superhero group.

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“Don’t think that didn’t weigh in as I was deciding whether or not to take the job,” Hauser said of previous films not doing so well. “That movie has not fully been nailed just yet.”

“That movie has not fully been nailed just yet.”

On what makes The Fantastic Four different, Hauser added, “But I really do think the combination of the screenplay, and the department heads that are working on the film, and that classy cast of really exciting actors — some of them known for a long time, and some of them having a moment right now — [make me feel that] this movie is special, and it was something I wanted to be a part of.”

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Matt Shakman is directing The Fantastic Four. Hauser’s co-stars include Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. Ralph Ineson will play the villain, Galactus, while John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne have been cast in mystery roles. Filming is set to start in London in July.

The Fantastic Four Gets Rebooted for the MCU

The first live-action Fantastic Four movie was developed by producer Roger Corman in the early 1990s. Though the film was shot with a trailer put out, this version of The Fantastic Four was never officially released, though bootleg versions would later surface. A separate adaptation was released by director Tim Story in 2005, and this was given a sequel with 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Director Josh Trank’s 2015 reboot introduced an all-new cast and was meant to launch a new series of films, but it as so poorly received that those plans were canceled.

The Fantastic Four will be released in movie theaters on July 25, 2025.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter