Jennifer Lawrence, well known for her roles in Winter's Bone, X-Men, and The Hunger Games series, is apparently in talks for a role in Disney's reboot of Fantastic Four.
Now, it is generally accepted that the Fantastic Four films are... not good. This isn't an issue if you know that not good films make for good entertainment if you're poking fun at the wooden characters and the plot holes that are the size of the craters on the Moon. Of course, the Fantastic Four are comic book characters, and it's very important that a comic book adaptation is worthwhile because it's how the two-dimensional panels and the shocking page-turners come to life.
Following Fantastic Four, its sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer didn't do so well at the box office. After a slew of scheduling conflicts, 20th Century Fox decided to opt for a reboot to be released in 2015. Starring Miles Teller, Jamie Bell, Kate Mara, and Michael B Jordan, the film was panned and only generated $168 million against a budget of $155 million. Yikes. In addition, director Josh Trank expressed that he himself was unhappy with the final cut, and has since disowned the film. Due to Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox, they've got the rights to the characters, and if anyone's going to redeem the First Family of Marvel, it'll be the multibillion dollar mass media and entertainment conglomerate.
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Disney revealed that Fantastic Four would be rebooted in December 2020, in its investor presentation which also announced a whole bunch of Marvel projects that are waiting in the wings. Jon Watts, who worked on Spider-Man: Homecoming and Spider-Man: Far From Home, will direct the film. Fans are feverish with excitement at the prospect, perceiving it as a clean slate for the Fantastic Four and their arcs. There was no timeframe offered for the upcoming reboot, but rumours already abound, and this latest claim says Jennifer Lawrence has been contacted about a possible opportunity in Fantastic Four.
Lawrence played Mystique in the X-Men films, but that doesn't necessarily strike her off the list to reappear as another character. For example, Chris Evans was cast as Johnny Storm before he bagged the role of Steve Rogers, also known as Captain America. However. Watts is still busy with the third Spider-Man film, so it's odd that casting news has popped up for Fantastic Four. Usually, these sorts of announcements come when the script has been finalised. Furthermore, Lawrence is listed in Netflix's Don't Look Up, though filming wrapped only four days ago. The timings are a little out of line, but with the pandemic continuing to impact the entertainment industries, it's possible that Disney is making moves ahead of schedule.
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All in all, we're unable to confirm the rumour at the moment. But, Lawrence is a very popular actress and has won countless awards for her performances across genres. She wouldn't be a bad pick for Sue Storm... let's wait and see what happens.
Featured Image Credit: Columbia Pictures, Disney