Ahmed Best is an actor you probably are most familiar with for having played Jar Jar Binks in the Star Wars prequels. Still, that unfortunate blotch on his CV hasn't stopped him from officially throwing his hat into the ring to take on the role of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Reed Richards, AKA Mister Fantastic.
Jon Watts, the director of all three Spider-Man MCU films, is set to helm Fantastic Four as part of the MCU's ongoing Phase 4 - but that's pretty much all we know about the project right now. There's been absolutely no word on casting yet, although fans already have some idea of who they'd like to see play Marvel's smartest man. Best is not an actor who has topped any of these lists, but now that it's out there? I'm definitely not against it.
Take a look at what Marvel has planned for the next few years below!
It's no secret that Best's career took a massive hit after appearing as the irritating Gungan in Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace. The backlash to the character of Jar Jar Binks was so severe, in fact, that his role was cut considerably in Attack Of The Clones. By the time Revenge Of The Sith rolled around, he had a one-line cameo.
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Aiming all of the Jar Jar hate squarely at Best is incredibly unfair, of course. Leaving aside the fact The Phantom Menace was 22 years ago now and we really should be over it, this is a guy who did exactly what George Lucas asked of him. It's about time he got another shot at a major motion picture... this time, hopefully, without awful dialogue and uneven direction.
The 47-year-old took to Twitter to officially state his intent. This actually came in response to a fan theory that the MCU Reed Richards could very well be played by a Black actor, given the character's relationship to Kang, who recently made his debut in Loki courtesy of Jonathan Majors.
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"Given that Kang's real name is Nathaniel Richards and he's a distant descendant of Reed Richards, I don't think it's unreasonable to think the MCU's version of Mr. Fantastic will be played by a Black actor," wrote Zaki Hasan. It's an interesting theory, no? Regardless, I'd certainly be fascinated to see what Best would do with such an iconic part.
Featured Image Credit: Marvel/Disney