If everything goes according to Marvel’s current plan, we will have a new Fantastic Four movie in 2025. It will be the third reboot of the team while marking their official entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. So far, Marvel has been tight-lipped regarding casting for the roles of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. Rumors swirled around John Krasinski (who played an alternate universe version of Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness), but Krasinski and Marvel seem to agree that his time as Mr. Fantastic is over.
That leaves everyone to speculate about which actors will wear the matching blue suits next. Of course, people also like discussing their dream casting ideas, even if they are out of the realm of possibility. @FilmUpdates tweeted a question to fans about who they would like to see star as the iconic team in the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. One response conjured thoughts of a hilarious train wreck that could only play out in some kind of fever dream on FX’s It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.
It’s always sunny at the Baxter building
One person responded with a tweet featuring images of four actors: Glenn Howerton, Kaitlin Olson, Rob McElhenney, and Charlie Day. Fans may know them better as Dennis Reynolds, Dee Reynolds, Mac, and Charlie Kelly from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia. Now the tweet may have been advocating the actual actors for the roles, but my brain went directly to their Always Sunny characters pretending to be the Fantastic Four.
Alright, so who would play who? Thankfully, my years of being a comic book nerd AND repeat viewer of Always Sunny are finally paying off, so I can break all of this down for you.
Dee Reynolds as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman – This choice is kind of obvious since Dee is the only woman in the group, just like Sue Storm. Although I am not against a gender-swapped cast, there is something to be said for Dee and Sue both knowing what it feels like to be surrounded by three men of varying intelligence levels. Unlike Sue, Dee would totally use her powers of invisibility to scam people out of money or creepily spy on folks for her own gratification. Also, I could see this as a way for her to not wear pants outside of the house and not get in trouble for it.
Dennis Reynolds as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch – As the brother of Dee, it is only natural that Dennis would play Invisible Woman’s brother, Johnny Storm. Johnny and Dennis both fancy themselves to be skilled with women. Whereas Johnny is charming, Dennis is a skeeze and borderline predator. And I’m sure Dennis believes himself to be so hot that he could will his body to burst into flames. This certainly would be a way to get women interested, but I’m sure he would mess it up somehow and end up burning down his apartment or the bar. Or both.
Mac as Ben Grimm/The Thing – Mac didn’t cultivate all that mass for nothing. In his soul, Mac has always known he was a ripped beast of a man. According to him, he could rip a phone book in half, do a backflip from standing, and other amazing feats. The last two seasons saw Mac finally shredded, but still lacking in skill. As the Thing, I think his dreams could finally come true. It might finally impress his dad or help him get a boyfriend. We are talking about Mac, though. So he would either 1) not want to use his strength anymore while he goes on a journey to figure himself out, or 2) just look huge with zero actual skills behind it.
Charlie Kelly as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic – Actually, I think this is my favorite casting. Richards is supposed to be the smartest man on Earth and Charlie is often the complete opposite of that. Yes, he’s illiterate and doesn’t have a great grasp of the English language, math, or history. But he’s Charlie. He’s got his own kind of brilliance. Anyone who has seen that conspiracy theory meme should know this. The way he keeps the bar running behind the scenes is inspiring. Given time and resources, I’m sure he could out-build and outsmart Reed Richards easily, while everyone else wonders how the hell he did it.
BONUS:
Okay, so if Dennis, Mac, Charlie, and Dee are the Fantastic Four, that would leave only one man suitable to play Victor Von Doom/Doctor Doom. That’s right, you and I both know that Frank Reynolds would be the ultimate Doctor Doom. Look, I’ll even help write the script because we need to see this on the big screen!
(featured image: Marvel Comics)
