Credit: Marvel StudiosMarvel Studios has added a new cast member to the upcoming movie The Fantastic Four, and this time, Disney has poached a major star from Netflix.
The Fantastic Four is one of the most significant Marvel Cinematic Universe in years, not only because it will finally introduce the First Family of Marvel Comics to the MCU canon. Along with Deadpool and Wolverine, which is scheduled for release this summer, The Fantastic Four is Kevin Feige and Bob Iger’s big swing at reviving the fortunes (and box office grosses) of the MCU after several years of crashing critical acclaim and revenue.
According to Paul Walter Hauser, who has been cast in an undisclosed role in The Fantastic Four, the weight of having the entire MCU on your shoulders is pretty intense for the actors involved.
In a recent interview, Hauser said the movie “has an insane amount of pressure on it between the films that underperformed from the same characters and then from the perspective of Iger and the family there, and Kevin Feige not wanting to overexpose their IP.”
Related: Way Too Soon: ‘Fantastic Four’ Prematurely Casts Galactus
That must give any actor being courted for The Fantastic Four pause, but given the recent wave of new announcements, Marvel Studios is still able to attract people. Per The Hollywood Reporter, the latest catch is Natasha Lyonne, the indie movie icon and star of the Netflix smash Russian Doll.
Natasha Lyonne will join the previously announced Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Now that the main team has been firmly established, it seems that Marvel Studios is planning on expanding the cast but largely keeping things mysterious.
Like Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich before her, Natasha Lyonne has been cast in an undisclosed role, which inevitably leads to a lot of speculation.
While we have theorized Hauser may be playing the Mole Man or H.E.R.B.I.E. and Malkovich could be either Nathaniel Richards or Franklin Storm (or even Victor Von Doom, monarch of Latveria himself), we are going to make an educated guess that Lyonne may be portraying Alicia Masters, the love interest of Ben Grimm (and sometimes, Johnny Storm).
Related: ‘Stranger Things’ Star Joseph Quinn is All In on ‘Fantastic Four’
In Marvel Comics continuity, Alicia Masters is a blind sculptress who falls in love with the Thing and frequently becomes caught up in any number of superheroic and/or villainous activities. Her affection is a source of both comfort and distress for Ben Grimm, who is constantly worried she would not love him if she could see his rocky exterior.
After the Secret Wars event, she and Johnny Storm began a relationship, only for it to be revealed that she had been a Skrull imposter all along.
From the tidbits that Marvel Studios has revealed, The Fantastic Four is taking place in a slightly different continuity than we are accustomed to in the MCU. If Natasha Lyonne is portraying Alicia Masters (and it’s entirely possible that, within the current environment of casting, an able-visioned person would not be cast), she may already be married to Ben Grimm when the movie begins. We’ll just have to wait and see.
Who do you think Natasha Lyonne could be playing in The Fantastic Four? Give us your theories in the comments below!
The Fantastic Four is scheduled for release on July 25, 2025. It will star Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. Matt Shakman directed the film from a screenplay by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer & Josh Friedman.