You leading star, Penn Badgley, responds to rumors that he will play Reed Richards in the upcoming Fantastic Four film.
The Fantastic Four is one of the most anticipated projects in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for the upcoming years. Although it is unknown who will play the MCU’s Fantastic Four, a well-known actor has expressed interest in perhaps taking part in the next reboot.
In recent months, various actors have reportedly been in high demand among Hollywood A-listers, and Badgley’s name has consistently been linked to the Fantastic Four in a number of reports.

There were rumors that a number of actors, including Adam Driver (the Star Wars sequel trilogy), Diego Luna (Andor), and Penn Badgley, were up for the role of Reed Richards (You).
Much like Spider-Man and Batman, many have donned blue costumes in their attempts to make this character work, but none have been able to sustain a film series. According to Marvel, the upcoming Fantastic Four film will usher in the MCU’s Phase 6 in 2024.

However, the majority of these actors kept quiet on the subject; in fact, Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman claimed that “all the casting stuff you see” is just rumor and speculation because he and Marvel Studios “have nothing to say right now.”

Penn Badgley Responds To Marvel Casting Rumors

When questioned about being fancast in the role of Reed Richards from the Fantastic Four during an appearance for Josh Horowitz’s Happy Sad Confused podcast to promote Netflix’s just-released You season 4, Badgley acted hesitant.
The actor said he could “neither confirm nor reject” the rumors linking him to the MCU’s Reed Richards role.

Badgley continued to be cautious when questioned if he had ever met Kevin Feige, CEO of Marvel Studios:

Horowitz: “Look, you think you’re a celebrity now, Penn. Imagine, just for a second, you stepping into a superhero costume, as many have fan-casted.”

Badgley: “Well… No, I can’t reveal that. Neither confirm nor deny. No, I don’t know what to say about that.”

Horowitz: “Have you ever met Kevin Feige, Penn Badgley?”

Badgley: “No. You know, it’s possible that I have, but not in this context. I might have met him years ago and I wouldn’t, you know, I’m not sure.”

Penn Badgley humorously joked about the rumors being false as their chat went on. He states,

Horowitz: “Okay, okay, is there any smoke to this fire of this Fantastic Four rumors of Reed Richards? Is that intriguing to you? What can you say?”

Badgley: “You know, where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire. It actually takes a lot to get from smoke to fire. I’ll say that. It takes a lot.”

Badgley went on to clarify that Feige is the only one who lights that fire, before concluding that he is “obviously” not in a Marvel film:

Horowitz: “So should I feed the fire? Do we want to? Penn, do you want my help in feeding the fire? Or are you good?”

Badgley: “That’s not how this fire gets lit. This fire gets lit by Kevin– I don’t even know how to pronounce his name.”

Horowitz: “It’s Feige, that’s the person–”

Badgley: “–Feige. Feige… So I’m clearly not gonna– I’m clearly not in a Marvel movie.”

However, based on Badgley’s comments, either he is reluctant to take on the role of Fantastic Four leader right now or he is playing his cards extremely close to his heart.

If Badgley does not wind up playing Reed in the MCU, he might play a variety of other roles. The Netflix star appears to be focusing on You Season 4 right now.

So far, there is no official word on who would play Reed Richards and lead the upcoming reboot of the MCU’s Fantastic Four. The project’s director will be Matt Shakman, but not much else has been decided.