When the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie finally arrives, the casting for the film might be more important than it has been for any other Marvel movie of the modern era. That’s because there have already been plenty of starts and stops of the Fantastic Four franchise. The argument can be made that when it comes to needing to get the casting right, the character that needs to be perfect is that of Sue Storm. She’s a beloved member of the team, seeming both like a mom, wife or girlfriend depending on where fans of the franchise are coming from. There have been several women who have taken on the role before and that too, will make it all the more important to get it right this time around.
When it comes to the casting of someone like Doctor Doom, Marvel is certainly going to want to get it right, but there’s a little more wiggle room. Sue Storm is not only arguably the most popular member of the Fantastic Four, but she’s also going to be front and center. She’s got to be appealing physically, but she’s also got to have a presence that’s unlike any other female character in the MCU so far. It’s going to be hard to nail down who exactly should take over the mantle of Sue Storm, but there are some actresses that seem most likely to step into those shoes.
Rachael Taylor
When it comes to the person who has to take on the mantle of Sue Storm, there’s a certain kind of personality that needs to be projected on the screen. Yes, there’s the mother-wife-sister thing going on. Yes, there’s the moral center of the Fantastic Four thing too. There’s also a character that needs to be able to convince audiences she can kick … butt. Taylor has that kind of charisma in spades. She showed it off most recently when she took on the role of Trish Walker in Jessica Jones.
The character started out as someone who was mostly a victim, but eventually grew into a fighter. While Sue Storm has never really been a victim, the ability to show off a character that truly feels for people, but also can let the punches fly is exactly what the next Fantastic Four movie needs to have. There’s also the fact that she sports a nice head of blonde hair, much the way the comic book character often appears.
Lily James
Much like Rachael Taylor, Lily James fits the bill for Sue Storm in a number of different ways. The first is that she’s got the blonde hair that the Fantastic Four character is so well known for. She’s also quite a beautiful woman. Those are the two aspects that got an actress like Jessica Alba the job back in the days before the MCU. However, James has shown the chops to be more than just a damsel in distress that Reed Richards, her brother Johnny or The Thing need to come rescue. She’s also got the ability to show toughness and strength in the face of bad odds.
James might be best known for her role as the somewhat naive niece of Lord Grantham in Downton Abbey, but even in that role, she turned herself into a kind of progressive woman who fought for others’ rights. Then of course there’s her role in Pride and Prejudice and Zombies. As Elizabeth Bennett, she took on a role that could be the Victorian version of Sue Storm. She seems to just be another pretty face until an army of the undead descends upon her. While it might be hard to figure out just who should take on the role of The Thing in the Fantastic Four movie, Lily James certainly has the pedigree and then some, for Sue Storm.
Rachel Brosnahan
Of all the people who might be up for the part of Sue Storm in Fantastic Four, there might be some who are a bit surprised by the mention of Rachel Brosnahan. These days, she’s best known for her role as Miriam ‘Midge’ Maisel in The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel. Obviously, there isn’t a ton of similarities between that character and the comic book hero, but there’s more under the skin for her. She’s taken on quite a few different roles over the course of her career. She’s even once played a hard as a rock assassin in The Blacklist. Like James and Taylor, she’s got the ability to convince an audience that she’s both seductive but can also take down a supervillain if need be. She’s also someone who can certainly play a chameleon type who can don a blonde wig without much of a problem.
Jodie Comer
Jodie Comer is very quickly becoming a science fiction goddess. While Killing Eve isn’t exactly in that particular genre, it doesn’t exactly seem as though it’s all that realistic either. In fact, it can certainly be argued that Villanelle is more like a superhero than anything else. Think Black Widow without remorse. Then of course there’s her role in Free Guy. That particular character might be a bit closer to the kind of way she could play Sue Storm in Fantastic Four. It feels like she would definitely take the character in a different direction than some of the others who could get the role, but that may not actually be a bad thing. A new feel for the Invisible Girl might be exactly what the next reboot needs.
Emma Stone
Emma Stone has quite a bit going for her as far as being someone who could be a candidate for one of the starring roles in the Fantastic Four movie. While Emma can certainly come off as sweet and shy and kind, she’s also got the ability to bring out the claws when she really wants to. Heck, she’s most recently taken on the role of one of the most famous villains in cinematic history in Cruella. She’s also got some history appearing in comic book movies, so she understands what goes into making them. There is, of course, the upshot that she’s already got a working relationship with Disney, so she could be folded nicely into the role of Sue Storm.
