Fantastic Four Star Joseph Quinn Addresses Taking Over for Chris Evans

Fantastic Four MCU movie star Joseph Quinn addresses the elephant in the room: taking over the Human Torch role from Chris Evans.

By Kofi Outlaw

Fantastic Four reboot movie star Joseph Quinn is dropping some straight talk when it comes to stepping into the role of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Johnny Storm, aka The Human Torch. 

Human Torch was played in the original Fox Fantastic Four movies by a young Chris Evans – years before he picked up Captain America's shield. The role of Johnny Storm was a big part of Evans' breakout in the 2000s and was largely viewed as one of the best comic book movie casting choices of the pre-MCU era. Even with all the ugly controversy over Michael B. Jordan playing Human Torch in the Fant4stic (2015) reboot, most fans thought he also did a good job as Johnny. 

So, no pressure on Joeseph Quinn (Stranger Things) to step in and offer his take on Human Torch – while also selling this entire new Fantastic Four franchise to the MCU audience. Right?

"I remember really enjoying Chris Evans's performance as Johnny in the previous films, and it felt like this would be a really exciting opportunity; I was absolutely signed up," Quinn told EW. 

While it's a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, Quinn also admits it's a massive challenge to take on. He has to not only be as likable a cad as Chris Evans was – he's also got to create an entire modern, mainstream version of Johnny Storm for the MCU. 

"I mean, you're going to make it your own," Quinn said about his approach to playing Human Torch. He also added that, "It's big boots [to fill]."

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(Photo: 20th Century Fox)

In another interview, Quinn teased that the MCU Fantastic Four is going to be epic: "It's mad. I'm really excited! I still can't believe it. We have a great gang" Quinn said. "When I spoke to Matt [Shankman], the director, he had a brilliant vision for this, and the gang that we have, it was an easy decision. I definitely wanted to be a part of it."

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Matt Shakman told Collider much the same: "I wish I could be specific. I wish I could say more. But we are doing things very differently from a story standpoint, from an approach to the filmmaking standpoint, that really fits the material. I wish I could say more. I would love to, but I can't. But I think it's going to be unlike anything you've seen before, and certainly unlike anything at Marvel that you've seen before."

Fantastic Four has a theatrical release date of July 25, 2025. 

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