Brandon Routh As Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards? Fans Push To Make It Happen
Brandon Routh made his name as Clark Kent in the 2006 Bryan Singer Superman Returns movie. His role as Superman was actually Routh’s second feature as his earlier career centered around television.
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When Emily Blunt decided to pass on the role of Sue Storm in the eventual reboot of Marvel’s Fantastic Four, she also took away the possibility of John Krasinski as Reed Richards. For the longest time, the real life husband and wife had been linked to the reboot, with most agreeing they would make a perfect power couple. Now that neither of them looks to be involved, another name has been beginning to gain traction to portray Reed Richards. That name is coming in the form of Superman Returns star Brandon Routh.
Brandon Routh made his name as Clark Kent in the 2006 Bryan Singer Superman Returns movie. His role as Superman was actually Routh’s second feature as his earlier career centered around television. He would return to the blue tights and red cape in the Batwoman crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Two, The Flash crossover event Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Three, and then again during the same event on Legends of Tomorrow, this time Crisis on Infinite Earths: Part Five. That, along with his role as DC’s Ray Palmer/The Atom on Arrow, Legends of Tomorrow, Vixen, Supergirl, and Batwoman means Routh is no stranger to the superhero genre.
As popular a figure as Brandon Routh has been within DC, a move to Marvel could be a big deal if Routh were to be considered. It would also be big since his name had never really been considered before. Fans had John Krasinski penciled in for the longest time, as some still do, but Routh had never been mentioned as a possible Mr. Fantastic. But once his name was tossed out into the ether as a possibility, it took on a whole new form.
Social media began to light up with the possibilities. New names were penciled in instead of Krasinski and Blunt. Brandon Routh was now becoming a popular choice. Obviously, Marvel fans are still hoping against hope that somehow Blunt changes her mind (cha-ching) which then would bring back her husband into the mix, but these fans can also see Brandon Routh taking on the role.
Another name being mentioned besides Brandon Routh is John David Washington (son of Denzel), who apparently followed that up by tossing his name into the hat. He told Nerd Reactor last year that he’d definitely be up for the part, he only needed Marvel President Kevin Feige to pick up the phone and dial his digits. “Wow, I’d say, ‘Well, thank you for having me, thank you for taking this meeting, where do I sign?” said Washington via Movieweb.
As for the rest of the Fantastic Four, fans seem to be cooling a bit on Emily Blunt after her announcement that she wouldn’t be joining the reboot. Ana de Armas is now gaining traction, as is Gillian Jacobs. Other names that fans are wanting to see as Sue Storm are Jennifer Lawrence, Natalie Dormer, and even Hayden Panettiere. As for Sue Storm’s brother Johnny, fans are hoping for Zac Efron, Nick Jonas, or Dylan O’Brien. John Cena seems to be a popular choice when it comes to Ben Grimm aka The Thing.
Brandon Routh would seem like a solid backup plan, possibly even fitting into the role more naturally than Krasinski could, given Routh’s familiarity with the superhero genre. Hopefully, this new reboot will make the 2015 ill-advised Josh Trank Fantastic Four reboot pale in comparison, though that probably won’t be hard to manage.
