After watching Top Gun: Maverick, we can’t help but put our vote in for Glen Powell to play Johnny Storm (The Human Torch) in the MCU’s Fantastic Four.
Considering how popular they are inside the pages of some of the most iconic comics ever published by Marvel, the Fantastic Four have had a surprisingly rocky transition into live-action. This is even more impressive considering that we had a pretty much perfect cast back in the days when Chris Evans was the Human Torch – and the idea of him becoming Captain America was still far into the future.
Saying that the 2005 Fantastic Four flick was any more than just passable would be dishonest – but the sad truth is that it remains the best live-action version of the characters so far. Even its sequel, 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer, failed to capture the camaraderie and the family dynamic of the first superhero family.
Then, in 2015, exactly ten years after the release of the original film, we got Fant4stic. A terrible movie in every sense of the word, this cinematic abomination pretty much killed any chance the Fantastic Four ever had of becoming a household live-action superhero team that could rival the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Thankfully, the rights to the Fantastic Four are now back with the rest of the MCU, which is why we saw an alternate version of Mr Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. This means that a new movie based on the team could be closer than anyone expected, and this time, it might just work.
The Fantastic Four in the MCU
Even though John Krasinski did an outstanding job as Reed Richards (even if his cameo was a bit on the short side,) we’re still missing the rest of the Fantastic Four. For obvious reasons, Chris Evans can’t reprise his role as the Human Torch, and neither can Michael B. Jordan, as both actors have already played different characters in the MCU.
That’s where Glen Powell comes in. An American actor, producer, and writer, Powell has gained considerable popularity in recent years. He began his career appearing in some minor roles in movies like Christopher Nolan’s The Dark Knight Rises, and the 80s’ action flick love letter, The Expendables 3.
More recently, Glen Powell jumped to the top of the box office thanks to his role in Top Gun: Maverick. In the movie, he plays the role of Lt. Jake ‘Hangman’ Seresin, where he acts as a sort of rival to the film’s protagonist, Bradley Bradshaw.
The Human Torch
Not only does Glen Powell look just like most comic versions of the Human Torch, but his experience playing a fighter pilot could also come in handy if he were to play the role of Johnny Storm in an upcoming Fantastic Four film for the MCU. After all, Johnny is the pilot of the team, and his flight abilities have pretty much turned him into a living aircraft.
Speaking of live-action versions of the Human Torch, Glen Powell would actually be the third person to ever play the character in a movie adaptation of the Fantastic Four – at least, technically speaking. Even though it was never released, there was a cancelled Fantastic Four film set to be released in 1994.
As we mentioned before, the history of cinematic adaptations of the Fantastic Four, for some reason, hasn’t been easy for Marvel. Here’s hoping the MCU can finally end this bout of bad luck and give us one hell of an introduction to Marvel’s most prominent superhero family. And if that can’t happen, let’s just cross our fingers so it doesn’t end up being as catastrophically bad as Fant4stic – well, let’s be honest here: nothing can be as bad as Fant4stic.
