The good news is Krasinski has already stated his interest; while promoting A Quiet Place, the actor-director told Screen Rant he would love to head up a Fantastic Four reboot alongside Blunt. But what makes them such perfect choices to head up the family?
- This Page: Krasinski And Blunt Should Play The Leads - And John Should Direct
Krasinski And Blunt Should Play Reed And Sue Richards…
There’s an inherent novelty to having a real-life married couple portray arguably the most celebrated married superheroes in the Marvel Universe. However, with Blunt and Krasinski there’s a genuine, on-screen chemistry, something already witnessed in A Quiet Place. Having the duo as Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman would be similar to when the then-married Angelina Jolie and Brad Pitt starred in Mr. & Mrs. Smith; part of the fun there was seeing the two portray a couple on-screen and watching their real-life rapport bleed into the movie. They are plainly likable together, something that can’t be quite said of previous versions of the characters.
They bring the goods indivdiually too. John has years of comedic goodwill built up from his starring role as Jim Halpert on The Office, but he’s also acted in numerous feature films and ventured into action roles like Michael Bay’s 13 Hours: The Secret Soldiers of Benghazi. He’ll soon topline the upcoming Jack Ryan TV series based on Tom Clancy’s famous spy. Blunt herself is no stranger to action films - she was fierce in Denis Villeneuve’s Sicario and Doug Liman’s Edge of Tomorrow - although most audiences still remember her best from her comedic role opposite Anne Hathaway and Meryl Streep in The Devil Wears Prada.
Rather humorously, they both had close calls to be part of the early MCU; Krasinski was once considered for Captain America while Blunt’s scheduling conflicts forced her to turn down the role of Black Widow in Iron Man 2. But Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman are much better fits for them as actors and as a couple.
Krasinski projects both warmth and intelligence, two qualities that Reed Richards needs for audiences to fully embrace the brainy, sometimes emotionally distant super genius (that warmth part is something the previous actors to play Reed, Ioan Gruffudd and Miles Teller, lacked). In A Quiet Place, we see Krasinski’s character Lee Abbott working in a lab to try to figure out the weaknesses of the alien monsters, and it’s an easy leap to see him tinkering with super science in the Baxter Building as Mr. Fantastic. Blunt can be both funny and maternal, but also heroically determined, which are hallmarks of the Invisible Woman.
What makes them so suitable, though, is that this casting also solves that big director problem.
…And John Krasinski Should Direct Fantastic Four
A Quiet Place is only John Krasinski’s third feature film as a director, yet it’s a remarkably confident and accomplished work that deftly walks the tightrope between a horror-thriller, science fiction, and an emotionally resonant family drama. Krasinski has also directed a few episodes of The Office so he has cut his teeth on comedy. He has demonstrated great ability at all of these filmmaking elements, and applying them to a superhero blockbuster under the guidance of Marvel Studios would be a perfect next step.
Marvel has excelled in fitting hungry young directors with the right superhero properties. After A Quiet Place, Krasinski is very much in line with the likes of Ryan Coogler (Black Panther) and Taika Waititi (Thor: Ragnarok) who have reinvigorated the MCU - arguably further on give his latest movie’s genre slant. He’s pretty much an ideal fit; he has the thoughtfulness and vision to execute a high-concept sci-fi film with action and palpable tension that never loses sight of the necessary heart, emotion and family dynamics. Sound familiar?
What An MCU Fantastic Four Needs To Be
Figuring out what exactly the MCU Fantastic Four will be is tricky. They won’t arrive until Phase 4 at the earliest, and there’s no telling how exactly the Marvel landscape will look after the next two Avengers films. Given that Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers 4 are being touted as the culmination of the MCU, many are preparing for radical changes to take place, including deaths of beloved heroes and possibly even a restructuring of the very fabric of the MCU’s continuity. Simply put, the Marvel Cinematic Universe will be a very different place when Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Benjamin J. Grimm take up residence in the Baxter Building - but it’s exactly why the Fantastic Four will be needed.
The Fantastic Four can, fortuitously, serve as a mirror to the Avengers of old: like Tony Stark, Reed Richards is a super genius who celebrates science and ingenuity, but without the relentless narcissism (though he does adopt the name “Mr. Fantastic”); Ben Grimm is a more personable mighty monster than the Hulk; Sue Storm brings none of the messy backstory of Black Widow and would compliment Captain Marvel as the MCU’s most prominent superheroines; Johnny Storm would be the enthusiastic face of the MCU’s superhero youth movement that includes Spider-Man and, hopefully someday, Ms. Marvel as well. But it’s not just mirroring that’s needed - it’s development.
What Krasinski’s Fantastic Four Would Offer The MCU
A John Krasinski Fantastic Four film could be two things the MCU needs at its core: a romance and a family. The Avengers are the centerpiece of the MCU, but their story is of disparate personalities coming together, breaking apart, and reassembling out of sheer necessity. Many of the Avengers, like Captain America and Bucky, share unbreakable bonds, but they are at best a found family, not a true family. Krasinski and Blunt together as Reed and Sue - whether they’re already married or the film depicts their courtship - would provide that solid romantic foundation missing from the MCU. After all, romance is something Marvel’s films have struggled with. Krasinski and Blunt could be the centerpiece romantic couple and the heart of the shared universe.
As a director, Krasinski’s intelligence and flair for comedy would also elevate Fantastic Four beyond the hackneyed sitcom slapstick of Tim Story’s films and Josh Trank’s failed attempt at equating superheroes with body horror that audiences soundly rejected. And that may be what makes them an ultimate pick: John Krasinski and Emily Blunt together as Reed Richards and Susan Storm are an easy sell to audiences and can convince the mainstream that this doomed movie franchise is worth a third attempt.
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It’s still quite a wait until Marvel’s First Family joins the MCU, but the best people to play the leads and a talented director for Fantastic Four are right in front of us.
