Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie continues to round out its talented cast with the addition of not one, but two heavyweight stars.
According to The Hollywood Reporter (THR), Ralph Ineson – well known for his roles in the Harry Potter and Game of Thrones franchises, plus the UK version of The Office – has signed on to voice the film’s primary villain. The big bad in question? Galactus, the planet-devouring, cosmic entity who’s one of the Fantastic Four’s most noteworthy antagonists.
As I alluded to, Ineson isn’t the only powerhouse actor to join the Fantastic Four‘s cast. Per Deadline, none other than John Malkovich (The New Look, Being John Malkovich) is also on board for the Marvel Phase 5 film, but there’s no news on who he’ll be playing.
True. He’s not a one-off. You could say he’s one-of(f)-a-kind. https://t.co/2qMz8zRriVMay 9, 2024
The A-list duo are the latest big name stars to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s (MCU) take on Marvel’s First Family. On February 14, Marvel finally revealed who’d be playing the Fantastic Four in one of its most anticipated new movies. The quartet in question, for anyone unaware, are Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Joe Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing).
That group was joined by Paul Walter Hauser – per Variety – in an undisclosed role in early May, plus Julia Garner (per Deadline) in early April. Deadline has claimed that Garner will portray a female version of another character with large ties to the Fantastic Four in Silver Surfer, and it’s the latter’s inclusion that all but confirmed the Fantastic Four movie’s villain would be Galactus weeks before Ineson’s involvement was reported on.
While we’ve seen a spate of cast reveals, plot details are still thin on the ground. In mid-February, a poster for Marvel’s Fantastic Four film seemed to tease when and where it would be set – indeed, fans believe that the movie will take place in an alternate universe, not the MCU itself. One particular Marvel.com webpage, titled Future Foundation, also provides some clues about what the flick’s story will entail, based on the Fantastic Four comics (which you can download for free) that are shown.
A Malkovich mystery
It’ll be some time before Marvel confirms – potentially, anyway – which other actors will star in Fantastic Four. Outside of the iconic quartet, the studio hasn’t officially announced Ineson, Garner, Hauser or Malkovich’s involvement. Considering how accurate the likes of THR, Variety, and Deadline usually are with their scoops, though, I’m confident that this group will be part of proceedings when filming gets underway this summer (that’s winter for Australian readers).
Even then, I don’t expect Marvel to officially announce which characters Hauser and Malkovich will portray. If the Disney subsidiary wants to keep their identities secret until the movie launches in theaters – that’s due to be on July 25, 2025, for anyone who didn’t know – it won’t reveal as much, either.
That hasn’t stopped MCU fans from theorizing who the pair – and, in particular, Malkovich – could play. One of the duo could be installed as Mole Man, another classic Fantastic Four villain whose efforts to lead a subterranean conquest of planet Earth are repeatedly thwarted by the fan-favorite superteam. Meanwhile, Marvel fans have also speculated on the possibility that Malkovich will play Franklin Storm, aka the father of Sue and Johnny.
If Marvel really wanted to throw a curveball at us, it could have hired Malkovich or Hauser to voice H.E.R.B.I.E, the Fantastic Four’s robot ally. I’m not sure either actor’s voice is a perfect fit to voice a droid, but Marvel has been known to make some curious, left-field casting choices throughout the MCU. Did anyone expect, for instance, Tilda Swinton to play the Ancient One in 2016’s Doctor Strange? Or what about Edward Norton in 2008’s The Incredible Hulk? Heck, despite his unquestionable star power and charismatic persona, Robert Downey Jr’s casting as Tony Stark in 2008’s Iron Man was a huge gamble for Marvel long before the MCU was the world-renowned juggernaut it is today. In short: don’t discount Malkovich and/or Hauser having an unusual role to play in Fantastic Four.
In the meantime, you can check out the three other, non-MCU Fantastic Four live-action movies, which are all available to stream on Disney Plus.