Fantastic Four: Austin Butler Reportedly Eyeing Human Torch Role

After receiving positive reviews for his leading performance in Elvis, it seems like Austin Butler has set his sights on his next major movie project: the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. According to Jeff Sneider on The Hot Mic podcast, Butler’s agents have reportedly been “putting him up” for the role of Johnny Storm a.k.a Human Torch in the highly-anticipated Marvel Studios project.

Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four will be directed by WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman from a scrreenplay written by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer (Disaster Wedding). It was first teased by Kevin Feige during 2019’s San Diego Comic-Con. Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts was originally slated to direct the project, but decided to drop out in order to take a break from the superhero genre.

Official casting for the film hasn’t been announced yet, but The Office alum John Krasinski recently made his debut as a variant of Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. It’s still unclear whether or not Krasinski will also be reprising the role in the upcoming film.

The Fantastic Four Marvel comic book series, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, debuted in 1961 and was the first superhero team title produced by Marvel Comics.

The film is set to make its debut during Phase 6 of the MCU, on February 14, 2025.