Shazam! star Zachary Levi has just tossed his name into the hat for Reed Richards in Marvel’s next Fantastic Four reboot. As of now, Fantastic Four is in the very early stages of development with plans for the superhero epic to conclude Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. No official castings have yet been announced, leading to immense fan speculation as to whom might be best served to play each of the team’s four unique superheroes.
Reed Richards, who serves as the leader of the team under his superhero alias Mister Fantastic, has had many names put forth by fans for fantasy casting. Some of the most talked-about choices include Brandon Routh (Superman Returns), John David Washington (Tenet), and perhaps the most popular option, John Krasinski (A Quiet Place). You can now add Levi’s name to the list based on some recent comments made by the actor.
Recently, Zachary Leviappeared at Dragon Con 2021 in Atlanta where he spoke about his career with fans. The subject of playing other superheroes on the big screen came up, and Levi named Deadpool as someone he had wanted to take on for years before Ryan Reynolds got to it first. The next name he thought of was Reed Richards, noting that this role would be “kind of fun,” and this possibility will likely have a lot of Marvel fans talking about the possibility. At the end of the day, however, Levi says he’s satisfied with Shazam!.
“For years I’ve wanted to be Deadpool. I was so jealous that Ryan… he rocked that… when you see somebody do something that you’ve wanted to do for a long time, and they do it great, you’re like ‘kudos, rock ‘n roll.’ … Reed Richards would be kind of fun. But to be truthful, I don’t even really allow myself to go down those roads because I’m so good. I’m so set. The fact that I even get to be Captain Marvel/Shazam!/Billy Batson, it’s such a fun dream role. And it’s got so much different DNA than almost every other [superhero].”
If Levi manages to land the role of Reed Richards in Fantastic Four, it wouldn’t mark his debut in the MCU. The actor previously played the role of the warrior Fandral in Thor: The Dark World in 2013. This of course does not mean that Levi has no chance of getting the part as many other actors have had multiple appearances in the MCU as different characters. This includes Gemma Chan, who will soon star in Eternals after previously appearing as someone else not so long ago in 2019’s Captain Marvel.
Kevin Feige has teased that the cast of Fantastic Four will probably consist of a mix between established and rising stars. Until some names are officially announced, Marvel fans will continue the debate on social media, and we’re bound to see several other names pop up as suggestions for Reed Richards along with the other character. In any case, it will be interesting to see how this next movie plays out. As of now, no release date has yet been announced. This news comes to us from The Direct.