The casting search for Fantastic Four is underway, and the rumors on who will join the famous superhero team continue to surface. One actress rumored for Sue Storm is Emma Stone, who reporter Jeff Sneider said was Marvel’s first choice for the role.
Why was Emma Stone the First Choice for MCU Sue Storm Role?
On The Hot Mic podcast, Sneider cited a rumor from Deadline reporter Justin Kroll about how Marvel was looking to build the team around Sue Storm as it’s supposedly the “standout role” in the movie. Therefore, Marvel went after a top actress for the role, and according to Sneider, Stone was their first choice.
“I’m told that they went to Emma Stone, and for 72 hours, Emma Stone was looking like Sue Storm,” Sneider said.
An Oscar winner and an A-list actress like Stone commands a lot of money, and Sneider said Stone should do so because she “knows her worth.” Sneider revealed Stone was onboard to play Storm for a salary of around $20 million, but Marvel did not want to pay that, citing that they want to have enough money “for the rest of the team.” Snider pointed out that Adam Driver, a movie star that’s not on the pay level of Stone, has been linked to play Reed Richards, which supports the thought that Marvel may elect to spread out the money delegated toward the salaries of the castmembers.
“We’ll see if Sue Storm ends up being a true movie star role, or someone who they go to for a rising star role which is probably where it’s head,” Sneider said.
Fantastic Four will be directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision) from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, who was brought in to re-write the script originally written by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. No casting announcements have been made, but production is still expected to start in early 2024. As a project in Phase Six of the MCU, Fantastic Four is scheduled to be released on February 14, 2025.
