See Henry Cavill As Marvel’s Reed Richards
Fan art has emerged online that places Henry Cavill in the role of Reed Richards for the MCU.
It’s been a weird time for Henry Cavill. He’s officially exited The Witcher and parted ways with the DCU, meaning we’ll no longer see him as iconic characters such as Geralt or Superman. Thanks to this great fan art of Cavill as Reed Richards, though, we now know what he would look like as the leader of Marvel’s Fantastic Four.
This fan art comes from Reddit user u/u/n_droo_yu_el. The art is direct and to the point. It showcases the actor in the Fantastic Four uniform (complete with salt and pepper hair) and a simple message: “Henry Cavill should be Reed Richards.”
The art provoked intense discourse about whether Henry Cavill would make a good Reed Richards. For example, some fans felt that, despite his great acting chops, Cavill is too bulky and muscular to portray a character that is mostly known for being thin and stretchy in the comics. Other Cavill fans pointed out that Cavill bulked up to play Superman but that he is naturally slim enough (think Tudors-era Cavill) to play the patriarch of Marvel’s first family.
Other fans stumbled onto the elephant in the room by asking the logical question: hasn’t Reed Richards already been cast in the Marvel Cinematic Universe? In Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the role of Richards was played by The Office alumnus John Krasinski. And Krasinski (rather than Henry Cavill) was an actor that fans consistently demanded to portray this Marvel character, just as his Multiverse costar Patrick Stewart was always the actor fans originally wanted to play Professor Xavier in an X-Men movie back in the day.
This is where things get a bit complicated. While the fan favorite Krasinski did appear as Richards in Multiverse of Madness, this was a version of the character from a different universe. This leaves room for Marvel to recast the role for an actual Fantastic Four movie, potentially opening the door for Henry Cavill to play the role.
And if Henry Cavill ultimately leaves the DCU to join the MCU, there would be a certain poetic irony to that. James Gunn was once exclusive to Marvel until the discovery of his problematic old tweets freed him from Disney and allowed him to create DCU properties like The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker. Now, Gunn is shaping the future of the DCU as co-CEO of DC Studios, and since he was the one to give Henry Cavill the boot, it would be funny to see this be the push Cavill needs to switch teams and start playing for Marvel.
So, could Henry Cavill actually become Reed Richards? Stranger things have happened in the world of superhero casting, and Krasinski previously claimed that he has not had any discussion with Marvel about a more long-term role. It seems the decision might come down to whether Disney wants someone as well-known as Cavill or if they’d prefer a younger, lesser-known actor for the role.
Still, the only reason fans are creating this kind of Henry Cavill art is that they long to see more opportunities for the beloved actor. Cavill seems very passionate about every project he works on, and some of the recent shifts in his career have not been his fault. Ultimately, we can only hope the person who becomes our long-term Reed Richards in the MCU brings even a portion of Cavill’s charm, wit, and grace to the role.
