Welcome to our new semi-regular column exclusively on Geek Anything, Fan-Cast-It Four! In this all-new original column, we are going to pitch four of our favorite film and television casting ideas for some of our favorite characters across popular culture! Whether they’re faces you know or names you’ve never heard, we want to come up with some fun ideas for who to cast in the iconic roles from throughout popular culture. We wanted to start this new column off with someone truly fantastic, so we figured we couldn’t go wrong with Mr. Fantastic himself, Reed Richards!
A few months back Disney announced that Marvel‘s First Family, The Fantastic Four, would finally be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Disney purchased 20th Century Fox back in 2019 and obtained the film rights to the characters. The big question on everyone’s minds seems to have already jumped to “but who will be playing them?”
So far, details are exceedingly scarce when it comes to what fans can expect from the movie. The only thing that people are generally considering to be a safe bet is that we will see our four titular heroes and their arch-nemesis, the villainous Doctor Doom.
So we got to thinking, if we had to cast the movie right now, who would we pick for these iconic comic book roles? We’re kicking off our brand new column with our Fan-Cast-It Four list of a quartet of potential choices for the MCU version of Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic! We are also throwing in a few honorable mentions for good measure.
The leader of The Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, is one of the smartest people on the planet and he knows it. The downside of having all that book-smarts and clever technological know-how seems to weigh down his brain and cause him to lose focus on basic things like social cues. He isn’t a jerk, he just doesn’t often realize how much he can come off like one. That means we should absolutely see someone join the cast who is believable as the smartest man in the room while also who can pass as endearing and likable even if they are aloof most of the time. Reed Richards had previously been played in live-action by Alex Hyde-White (1994), Ioan Gruffudd (2005-2007), and Miles Teller (2015).
In no specific order, here are our favorite casting choices for Reed Richards in the Marvel Cinematic Universe!
William Jackson Harper
Best known for his role as the super awkward and incredibly intelligent Chidi on The Good Place (2016), William Jackson Harper is destined for bigger and better things than a starring role on a beloved sitcom. Harper is a scene-stealer with a powerful onscreen presence that absolutely would shine in a starring role like Reed Richards. We could see him slide flawlessly into this character that would allow him to focus on presenting Reed’s intelligence.
Reed is meant to be completely unaware of how awkward he is being while he over-explains the science behind how something works, and we can definitely see William Jackson Harper carrying an entire new corner of the MCU that way. Most importantly, we can see Harper leading a team in an ensemble cast, which is a very important dynamic for any team leader.
Rahul Kohli
Yet another television actor that seems ready to take the plunge and become a full-blown movie star, is Rahul Kohjli. He is certainly a face you’ll recognize, even if you don’t know his name. Kohli has been popping up all over the place in recent years with steady roles on shows like iZombie (2015), Supergirl (2015), Harley Quinn (2019), and most recently The Haunting Of Bly Manor (2020) on Netflix. Kohli’s star is definitely on the rise, and starring as the leader of Marvel’s First Family would be a giant step in the right direction for him.
Kohli is perfect for the role of a smart guy who always knows exactly what he is talking about. The way he carries himself would play to Reed’s arrogance while still keeping the character likable enough that we will want to root for his success. It also helps that he is a pretty big comics fan and knows the character well, meaning he may bring a little extra something special that Marvel needs for the role to really pop.
John Cho
Fan-favorite actor John Cho has been all over the place in recent years and is somewhat of an unsung hero in Hollywood. Cho has been taking on fairly sizable roles in major film projects for years, with appearances in both the Harold and Kumar (2004-2011) and Star Trek (2009-2016) franchises, Total Recall (2012), and most recently The Grudge (2020). Cho is set to star in Netflix‘s upcoming live-action adaptation of the classic Cowboy Beebop anime, but we feel like John Cho has just the right energy to bring Reed Richards to life in a way a lot of people might not expect.
An actor like John Cho would bring some much-needed charm to the character of Reed Richards while still maintaining the character’s general aloofness when focusing on his work. Reed isn’t a jerk, he’s just got a lot on his mind and tends to not pick up on the subtle social cues that most people would. The idea of Cho taking on this role would certainly bring a level of likeability to Mr. Fantastic and help him live up to his superhero alias.
Joseph Gordon Levitt
Joseph Gordon Levitt is probably the biggest name on this list and after a storied career in the entertainment industry, we think it is about time we saw him suit up as a proper comic book hero. Yes, we know he was ‘Robin’ John Blake in Christopher Nolan‘s The Dark Knight Rises (2012), but I think we can all agree that it’s time for JGL to take on a bigger superhero role and make his real mark on the comic book film genre.
It wouldn’t be a stretch to say that Joseph Gordon Levitt would bring a strong on-screen presence to Reed Richards that the character could certainly use. Gordon Levitt has spent years playing the guy that is kind of a jerk with his heart in the right place — which would fit Reed Richards to a T. The only question that would really remain is whether or not his star is already too big for Marvel to sink him for this meaty role that will very likely be a key player in the future of the MCU.
Honorable Mentions
Sterling K. Brown
We absolutely love the idea of casting Sterling K. Brown in the role of Reed Richards, and honestly, he would be one of our very first choices to lead the Fantastic Four. The problem? Sterling K. Brown is already in the Marvel Cinematic Universe! Brown appeared in a small but majorly important role of N’Jobu in Black Panther (2018), which means he is officially off the table for future MCU starring roles.
John Krasinski
Look, we get it. John Krasinski is generally considered the current frontrunner in many fan castings for this role. He seems like an all-around perfect fit for Reed Richards, but that is actually why he isn’t on our main list. Krasinski spent years playing Jim Halpert, the clever, loveable, slacker on The Office (2005), giving him plenty of experience in a role where he’s mentally already three steps ahead most of the time. In recent years he has shown he can carry an action franchise with Amazon’s Jack Ryan (2018) series and with his own horror project A Quiet Place (2018) was massively successful. A major comic book hero role would be a great next step for the actor if it is even something he is interested in doing. It also doesn’t hurt that he bears a striking resemblance to the character’s modern appearance in the comics.
We also took to social media including Facebook and Twitter and asked our readers who they would cast as Reed Richards if they were able to make the decision today and got some great answers! We have included the list below excluding anyone that was already mentioned above (we’re looking at you Rahul Kohli, who was the most suggested name!). Other people that fans want to see in the role of Reed Richards include:
- Riz Ahmed
- Aisha Tyler
- Glenn Howerton
- Taika Waititi (we are aware he is in The MCU, but not as a face character!)
- Marc Evan Jackson
- Doug Jones
Who would YOU cast as Reed Richards for the Marvel Cinematic Universe? What do you think of our suggestions? Be sure to let us know in the comments below and stick around Geek Anything for more Fan-Cast-It Four!
