It seems Ebon Moss-Bachrach wasn’t the only actor in talks to play The Thing in The Fantastic Four! David Krumholtz has revealed he was in talks to play Ben Grimm in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot.
David Krumholtz has returned to Hollywood in a big way in recent years. The actor was a sizable star in the early 2000s with roles in 10 Things I Hate About You and as the head elf Bernard in The Santa Clause franchise. While he continued to act since then, the mainstream spotlight was back on him when he was cast in Oppenheimer. Now it seems he has his sights on the MCU, revealing he spoke to The Fantastic Four director Matt Shakman to play The Thing in the reboot.
“It’s been a big, sort of unabashedly craven goal of mine to be part of the MCU in some way,” Krumholtz told Entertainment Weekly. “I met [director] Matt Shakman for Ben Grimm.”
“I only met him on the strength of a Twitter post or an Instagram post that I then took down two hours after I posted it,” he continued. “I was embarrassed. My post said, ‘I just want to be in the conversation.’ And it was a picture of the Thing, and Matt saw it somehow. And I had a meeting with him and we discussed it. And I’ve never been so bold in a meeting before, just begging for the role, just straight up selling the s— out of it, the idea of how committed and passionate I was for it. But obviously, that didn’t happen.”
Despite losing out on the role of The Thing to Ebon Moss-Bachrach, it seems David Krumholtz hasn’t given up hopes to join the MCU yet. The actor is eyeing another role in the reboot, revealing his desire to play the infamous Mole Man from the very first issue of The Fantastic Four comics.
“It’s not a joke at all,” Krumholtz admitted. “I mean, it’s a shoe-in for Mole Man, isn’t it? But I don’t know. I’ll do anything Marvel tells me to. I’ll probably end up playing like a superhero’s therapist. Let’s face it. There’s slim pickings for guys like me in that world, unfortunately. I’m old and I’m not in any kind of acceptable shape. So we’ll see how that works out, if it works out at all.”
David Krumholtz might be selling himself too short by resigning himself to play Mole Man in The Fantastic Four reboot. While he says he’s too old at 45, he remains younger than most MCU actors who’ve been cast in leading roles. He may not be playing The Thing, but fans can hope he’ll at least be able to share the screen with Ebon Moss-Bachrach in the future!
What we know about the Fantastic Four movie
Marvel Studios recently announced the cast for its Fantastic Four reboot, setting the stage for a new era of MCU adventures. Stepping into the roles of the beloved superhero team are Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm.
Behind the scenes, The Fantastic Four will be brought to life under the direction of Matt Shakman, with Josh Friedman writing the screenplay. With production slated to begin in summer 2024, Marvel fans can look forward to the film’s journey to theaters in July 2025, marking a new chapter in the MCU.
Fantastic Four opens on July 25, 2025. Stay tuned for all the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
