Alexis Denisof

Question: I’ve heard a rumor that Alexis Denisof from the TV series Angel is being considered for the role of Reed Richards in the upcoming Fantastic Four film. Is this true, and have the rest of the characters been cast yet? I’m a fan of Denisof’s and would love to see him do more films, especially now that Angel has been canceled. - Alice

Flickchick: The Fantastic Four film, based on the long-running Marvel comic-book series about a quartet of astronauts who gain superpowers after being contaminated in space, has been in serious pre-production for more than four years. But it looks as though it’s finally moving ahead: Tim Story, who directed Barbershop, has just joined the crew and the film has a tentative July 2005 release date. Unfortunately, the talk about Alexis Denisof as Dr. Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic is linked to an earlier iteration of the project, when Peyton Reed was going to direct and screenwriter Doug Petrie, whose credits include episodes of TV’s Tru Calling, Angel and Buffy the Vampire Slayer, and was working on the script. Petrie talked in interviews about his whole Fantastic Four dream cast: Denisof, Charlize Theron as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Paul Walker as her brother, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and John C. Reilly as the voice of The Thing. Reed left the project, and Mark Frost is the most recent writer of several writers to take a crack at the screenplay. None of the roles have been cast, although 20th Century Fox is reportedly looking at Michael Chiklis of TV’s The Shield to play The Thing.