The Queen’s Gambit star is being considered for a “villain” role in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four reboot.
Marvel’s first family might have found their first villain in Anya Taylor-Joy. The Emmy-nominated Queen’s Gambit actress is in talks to join the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a secret villain role, according to a new report.
Insider @DanielRPK, who also shared that Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, first reported Taylor-Joy’s possible involvement. Her mystery role comes as rumors spread that Marvel Studios might cast a female Silver Surfer as the herald of Galactus. Oscar winner Javier Bardem is reportedly in talks to play Galactus, the cosmic character who devours planets.
The silver-skinned Norrin Radd, also known as the Silver Surfer, is the most famous of Galactus’ heralds. These heralds get a portion of the Power Cosmic to help Galactus find planets to eat. But Galactus has had many other heralds, like the Fallen One, Fire Lord, Air-Walker, and Terrax.
Some female heralds include Stardust (also known as Lambda-Zero) and Frankie Raye, an earthling who became the cosmic-powered Nova to save Earth by serving Galactus.
Taylor-Joy played another Marvel character, Illyana Rasputin (also known as Magik), in Fox’s 2020 X-Men spinoff The New Mutants. She has also starred in movies like The Witch, Last Night in Soho, The Northman, The Menu, and The Super Mario Bros. Movie. Her next big role is alongside Chris Hemsworth as Imperator Furiosa in George Miller’s Mad Max prequel, Furiosa.
Matt Shakman, who directed WandaVision and Monarch: Legacy of Monsters, is set to direct Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot. Filming is scheduled to start in spring 2024 at Pinewood Studios in London. Since Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the movie in 2020, fans have been exciting about the Fantastic Four movie.
Recent reports confirm that Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) will play Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/The Thing in the new Fantastic Four movie.
Kevin Feige explained that Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that followed in the comics. While there have been different versions on screen, it has never been part of the MCU’s storytelling, which makes this really exciting for Marvel Studios. Feige added that they plan to make Fantastic Four a major part of the MCU, just like it has been in the comics for the past 50 or 60 years.
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The Fantastic Four appeared in two Fox movies between 2005 and 2007 and were rebooted in 2015 with Fant4stic. In a recent interview, Matt Shakman said that Marvel Studios’ new version will be “different in so many ways” from the previous ones.
He mentioned that they are taking a unique approach to the story and filmmaking that really suits the material. Although he couldn’t reveal much, he promised that it will be unlike anything we’ve seen before, especially in the Marvel universe.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four is set to release on May 2, 2025, as part of Phase 5 of the MCU and the Multiverse Saga.
Source: Comicbook