Marvel Studios is poised to take advantage of Disney's purchase of Fox, with the introduction of the X-Men universe and the Fantastic Four in the subsequent phases of its franchise. However, finding the right actors for each iconic role can be difficult.

The company has already chosen the director of WandaVision, Matt Shakman, to take charge of the film focused on the first family of superheroes. However, choosing the stars that will put themselves in the shoes of Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm has yet to occur. In particular, the choice of Mr. Fantastic seems to be the most complicated, with a different actor ringing in almost every new week as a candidate.

The most recent to join the list is Dev Patel, although not because he met with the studio, but thanks to fan art that imagines him as the next Reed:

Patel joins big names like Penn Badgley, Adam Driver, and Ryan Gosling, who have already popped up as possible actors for Richards. Additionally, Austin Butler was the most talked about as Johnny Storm, and Jodie Comer as his sister, Sue, after names like Lily James, Amanda Seyfried, Phillipa Soo, Saoirse Ronan, and Vanessa Kirby also appeared. At the moment, no actor has been officially chosen for any of the critical roles within the film, but there may be some clues in the next Marvel films that arrive this year in theaters.

Related: Fantastic Four: Why The 2005 Marvel Movie Wasn’t That Bad

How Ant-Man 3 Could Connect With The Fantastic Four

Ant-Man and the Wasp Quantumania
Marvel Studios
Disney

The Fantastic Four movie will hit theaters in 2025, but the next MCU film, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, could serve as an introduction to the family of heroes and lay the groundwork for future alliances and battles.

In fact, for a while, it was believed that William Jackson Harper would play Reed Richards in the film. However, it was finally revealed that his character would be Quaz, and he could be the connection to The Fantastic Four.

Although it is not yet clear if Quaz is a character created for the MCU or some adaptation of the comics, if it is the second, there is a very good option there. Quaz could be Quasam, a galactic hero with connections to the Quantum Realm who joined the superhero family on several occasions to fight. In fact, the paths of all these characters cross with Galactus, who, according to various rumors, could be the next great MCU villain after Kang.