Later this month, blockbuster superstars Dwayne Johnson and Emily Blunt will combine their powerful personalities for the Disney adventure film Jungle Cruise. But while promoting that movie, the two actors reminded us of just how different their tastes in projects might be. Johnson acts like a superhero on screen in numerous projects, and actually will play one for the very first time when his Black Adam project arrives in theaters. But Blunt has no real interest in the genre, despite the fact that she has been fancast as one hero, in particular, for years.
Marvel fans around the world have locked into the notion that Emily Blunt and her real-life husband, actor-director John Krasinski, should play Sue and Reed Richards in the studio’s announced adaptation of Fantastic Four. There’s nothing wrong with the casting. Blunt and Krasinski would be excellent representations of Mr. Fantastic and The Invisible Woman. Only, Blunt isn’t into comic-book blockbusters, as she recently reiterated to The Hollywood Reporter:
I really understand that [superhero movies] are like a religion for a lot of people. They don’t appeal to me in the same way. I don’t have this burning desire to play a superhero.
For a moment, let’s view this through the lens of “misdirection.” It’s possible that Emily Blunt has had multiple conversations with Marvel Studios, and is waiting for Kevin Feige to announce that she and John Krasinski will, indeed, be part of Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four (which has no release date as of yet). If so, then these statements made in numerous interviews dating back at least three years could all be a smokescreen. Blunt certainly has appeared in her fair share of action movies, so making the leap to a comic-book adaptation isn’t really all that far.
At the same time, there’s a difference between an actor saying, “It’s up to the studio and the fans,” and Blunt admitting that these movies “don’t appeal” to her. That’s not politely deferring. That’s throwing a little bit of harmless shade at a genre that has placed an enormous stamp on the current film industry. And her opinion is totally fine! But if she really feels this way, why would Marvel fans want her to play Sue Storm, potentially winning the role over an actor who’d be out-of-their-mind excited to portray The Invisible Woman and join the Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Fantastic Four is the last film announced for Phase Four (appropriate), and Marvel Studios hasn’t revealed when it is going to arrive. However, casting news could be coming up soon. We know that filming has either concluded or is progressing on 2022 movies such as Thor: Love and Thunder and The Marvels. But the two movies ahead of Fantastic Four that have dates -- Ant Man and The Wasp: Quantumania and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 -- are just now entering pre-production, so Four has time.
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