The breakout star of Baz Luhrmann‘s Elvis is reportedly ready to flame on. Austin Butler, the 31-year-old actor who burst onto the film scene this year after nearly two decades of steady work on television, is supposedly putting himself in contention to play Johnny Storm in Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four. The film is one of the most anticipated superhero projects currently in development, and there have been no shortage of rumors swirling around its potential cast. This information comes from a recent episode of Jeff Sneider‘s The Hot Mic, in which the industry insider dropped the possible bombshell that Butler had spoken to his representation and his agents were in the process of “putting him up for Human Torch.”
This does not mean that Butler is a front-runner for the role, or even that Kevin Feige and the folks at Marvel are genuinely interested in him as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s future. If true, however, it might be another indicator of just how coveted roles in the Matt Shakman-directed blockbuster have become in Hollywood. The Fantastic Four are major players in the Marvel Universe, and landing a leading role in Shakman‘s project could mean several years of big money and bigger exposure to follow. As Sneider puts it in the same episode of his show, Fantastic Four is one of two “crown jewels” for Marvel’s next era in the MCU, and “all the actors in town want to be part” of it.
The film, set to be released on February 14th, 2025, will be the fourth attempt at bringing the titular team to life on the big screen, and fans are hoping it will be better than what they’ve seen in the past. There are currently no actors officially attached to the cast.
Source: The Direct
