MCU Fantastic Four Betting Odds Favor John Krasinski, Emily Blunt Casting
Oddsmakers favor John Krasinski and Emily Blunt to head up the cast of Fantastic Four when the superhero title finally arrives in the MCU.
MCU Fantastic Four betting odds favor John Krasinski as Reed Richards and Emily Blunt as Sue Storm. Comic book movies have been all the rage in Hollywood for well over a decade now, and while the era of comic book dominance has led to some strong adaptations of classic works, it’s also led to a lot of disappointing movies. And arguably no classic comic book title has been more ill-served by Hollywood during this time than Fantastic Four.
A Marvel staple going back to the original Stan Lee/Jack Kirby book in 1961, Fantastic Four spawned several animated shows over the years, and infamously was adapted by legendary schlock director Roger Corman as a movie that was never intended to be seen by audiences but was only made so its rights holders could retain their claim. The first real honest attempt at a Fantastic Four movie was then made in 2005, with a sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer following in 2007. Those movies did mediocre business at the box office and are not fondly remembered by fans today. Even less fondly remembered is director Josh Trank’s 2015 film, which was a certified flop with just $167 million grossed at the box office against a budget of $120-155 million. Later when Disney merged with Fox, hopes for a good Fantastic Four movie made within the MCU were stoked, and indeed it was confirmed in 2020 that such a film is in development.
Thus far little more has been revealed about the upcoming MCU Fantastic Four, beyond the addition of Jon Watts as director. Fans obviously have their own ideas about who should play the iconic team of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, and now the sports betting site Bovada has released their official odds for each of those characters (via CBR). Presently, husband-and-wife Krasinki and Blunt are the favorites to play Richards and Storm respectively, with Hamilton actor Anthony Ramos as the favorite for Johnny Storm and Boardwalk Empire’s Stephen Graham as the top choice for Grimm. In addition, Giancarlo Esposito is currently the favorite to play Doctor Doom.
Looking down the list of other actors favored for each role reveals some interesting choices. For Richards, William Jackson Harper and Glenn Howerton come in behind Krasinski (Harper would be the first person of color to play Richards). For Sue Storm, Lily James, Samara Weaving and Jessica Chastain come in behind Blunt (whoever plays the character hopefully won’t be saddled with a terrible wig as Kate Mara infamously was in Trank’s Fantastic Four).
After Michael B. Jordan played the character in the last Fantastic Four, Ramos is the pick for Johnny Storm with Riz Ahmed and Zac Efron also in the running. For Ben Grimm aka The Thing, Dean Norris, John Cena and Nathan Fillion are the oddsmakers’ favorites behind Graham. It remains to be seen if the new Grimm will be CGI or a man in a suit.
Obviously none of this is anywhere near official, but simply reflects where fans’ minds are when it comes to casting the members of the Fantastic Four. By and large, the choices are a mix of predictable and interesting, with oddsmakers somewhat reflecting a desire for more diverse casting. It will be fascinating to see which actors are ultimately chosen to play the Fantastic Four when the classic Marvel team finally arrives in the MCU.