Adam Driver Reportedly Turned Down FANTASTIC FOUR Role After He Read The Script

Over the past several months there have been reports that Adam Driver was offered the role of Mr. Fantastic in Fantastic Four by Marvel. At one point it was reported that he accepted the offer, at another more recent point it was reported that the actor “priced himself out” and that a deal was never made.

We have a new update on the latest episode of The Hot Mic podcast with John Rocha and Jeff Sneider, who broke several of the previous reports on Driver’s involvement with the MCU. They are now saying that not only is Driver completely out, but the actor turned Marvel down very early on after he read the script for the film. Sneider explained:

“This contradicts some stuff some we’ve put out there in the past, but…this comes from someone apparently working on the Fantastic Four movie. They said that Adam Driver was never really engaged in this. They sent Adam Driver the script a while back and he said that he couldn’t connect with the character on the page, and he passed very early on.”

Sneider went on to say that it’s possible that Marvel Studios could return to Driver with the film’s new script, which is being written by Josh Friedman. Who knows what will happen, but I think its safe to say we won’t see Driver in the role of Mr. Fantastic.

With Driver out of the picture, the question is, who is Marvel looking at now for the role? Who are their second and third choices? I don’t know! But, Margot Robbie has been rumored to be playing Sue Storm, and Elvis star Austin Butler is set to be looked at for the role of Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch.

When previously talking about the film, Kevin Feige said that Marvel’s first family is going to be a big pillar of the future of the MCU after they’re introduced. He said: “Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There's certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that's something that is really exciting for us. People will start to hear more about that soon. We plan on that being a big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they've been in the comics for 50 or 60 years.”

Marvel producer Stephen Broussard previously promised that the film will be a true celebration of the original source material from the comics: “I wouldn’t presume to know everything about that film; I’m not necessarily working on it. But one of the founding principles of Marvel, going back to Iron Man and the casting of Tony that I think has resonated through today, is to embrace the source material and these comics that have been around forever. They’re older than me, and I’m guessing they’re older than you too. They’ve been around for a while for a reason, [so we] lean into that.”

Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is directing the film.