UPDATE: The film's director Josh Trank has stepped in on Twitter to debunk the rumor. That doesn't mean Teller might not be in the running down the road, or wasn't considered at some point... but right now, he doesn't seem to be lined up for the role.
Original story below:
Shailene Woodley had a brush with the comic book world when she was cast as Mary Jane Watson in The Amazing Spider-Man 2, but now it's her Spectacular Now co-star that may be getting a chance to jump into a superhero world. Sources have told The Wrap that Miles Teller is one of the actors in-contention for the role of Mr. Fantastic a.k.a. Reed Richards in the upcoming reboot of The Fantastic Four from director Josh Trank.
When news came out last month that the comic book movie would be starting up production down in Louisiana this September we immediately began anticipating a flood of casting rumors, as the movie has yet to sign a single actor on board. In the last few months we've reported rumors saying that Chronicle star Michael B. Jordan was being considered for the role of Johnny Storm a.k.a. The Human Torch, and that Girls' Allison Williams was being looked at to play Sue Storm a.k.a. The Invisible Woman, but there was never really any follow up on those stories.
The up-and-coming star turned 26 this year, which is six years younger than Ioan Gruffudd was when he took on the part back in 2005. This would actually be a closer fit to the comics, as the character was said to be a child prodigy in his mid-20s when he went on the mission that wound up turning him into a superhero. We've yet to hear any real concrete details about how the movie will approach the origin story or the characters, but we're patiently waiting for more to be revealed about the script.
In the comics the story begins when Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm board a shuttle to work on a scientific mission in space. Their ship winds up getting hit by cosmic rays that gives each of them very special powers: Reed, as Mr. Fantastic, can bend his body into any shape; Sue, as The Invisible Woman, can both disappear and project force fields; Johnny, as the Human Torch, can control fire and fly; and Ben, as The Thing, has his entire body covered in hard stone and is given amazing strength. Using their powers for good they fight off the forces of evil.
If Trank and Twentieth Century Fox are indeed going with a cast younger than what we saw the first time around, then it will be interesting to see how the rest of the casting process works out. As noted earlier, be sure to stay tuned in the coming weeks for all the breaking casting news.
In the meantime, what do you think of Miles Teller as Mr. Fantastic? Answer our poll below and tell us your thoughts in the comments section.
This poll is no longer available.
