FANTASTIC FOUR Star Ebon Moss-Bachrach Talks Prepping to Play The Thing: "I've Just Been Looking at Rocks"
Fans are preparing for the MCU to bring us what we hope will be the best big screen version of The Fantastic Four that we’ve ever seen.
While we wait, the actors attached to the starring roles are also preparing for what they also hope to be a new leaf for Marvel films. While we had hit a slump for a while there, the hope of these new characters and stories is pretty exciting, and one actor has chimed in on how he’s prepping:
Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who has signed on to play Ben Grimm/The Thing in the film, previously appeared on Jimmy Kimmel Live! where he teased his costume and revealed the cast had started a group chat. This week, the actor appeared on The Daily Show to promote the new season of his FX hit series The Bear, and he joked about his preparation for playing The Thing.
"I'm playing Ben Grimm, who becomes The Thing, who is a man encased in rock. So, yeah, I don't know, I've just been looking at rocks.
“I've been reading a lot of comics. It's really nice. They gave me this Marvel Unlimited thing, so I can just go on my iPad, and go to any comic book that Marvel's ever released."
It’s funny because these Marvel actors have to do the rounds on their other acting projects, and people ask them about their MCU movies, and they really can’t say anything at all.
They don’t know anything early on, and once they do, they’re not allowed to give anything away. It is cool though that he has access to the Marvel library, and he is taking advantage of it.
The film’s core cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic); Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman); Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch); and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). Julia Garner is set to play Shalla-Bal, a version of Silver Surfer; and Paul Walter Hauser has been cast in an undisclosed role.
Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is directing from a script by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. Peter Cameron (WandaVision) has also done some writing on the project. Production will begin this summer, with the film slated to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.