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Natasha Lyonne ‘cast’ in mystery Fantastic Four role alongside Pedro Pascal

‘The Orange is the New Black’ actor has reportedly joined Marvel’s star studded cast

Lydia Spencer-Elliott
Thursday 16 May 2024 09:02 BST
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Fantastic Four trailer

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Natasha Lyonne has reportedly been cast in Marvel’s forthcoming The Fantastic Four film.

The Emmy winner, 45, is best known for the cult comedy But I’m a Cheerleader and the Netflix series Orange is the New Black.

According to Deadline, Lyonne will join a star studded cast that includes The Last of Us’s Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr Fantastic, The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman and Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch.

Ozark’s Julia Garner will play Silver Surfer, The Office star Ralph Ineson will play villain Galactus, while John Malkovich has also joined the film in an undisclosed role.

Marvel Studios had no comment on the reports Lyonne will join the cast, with details of her character entirely unknown.

Fans reacted positively to the news of the actor’s potential casting on social media. “Another fantastic actor,” wrote one person, while another claimed Lyonne’s addition made the Fantastic Four cast “Oscar worthy”.

The new The Fantastic Four will represent the first time the superhero team will join the interlinking Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).

Disney’s Marvel Studios acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four in 2019 when the company merged with Fox.

Natasha Lyonne in ‘Poker Face’
Natasha Lyonne in ‘Poker Face’ (Peacock)

WandaVision director Matt Shakman will helm the next iteration of the superhero team on the big screen.

Last November, news leaked that Pascal was “in talks” to lead the reboot. While earlier that year, Mila Kunis was forced to shut down rumours that she had been tapped to play Sue Storm.

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Fans had also favoured John Krasinski and Emily Blunt to play Reed and Sue, respectively. Krasinski had played an alternate universe version of Mr Fantastic in the MCU’s 2021 Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.

His version of the character, however, was killed off and Marvel subsequently insisted that Krasinski would not necessarily play the character within the main MCU timeline.

The original Fantastic Four comic books follow a group of scientists who develop superhero qualities after they are exposed to a mysterious cosmic storm.

The Fantastic Four is set to be released on 25 July 2025.

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