Joseph Quinn is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Johnny Storm/Human Torch in the upcoming tentpole “The Fantastic Four,” starring opposite Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) and Julia Garner (the Silver Surfer named Shalla-Bal). It’s a pivotal time for the MCU as debates over “superhero fatigue” rage on following the onslaught of 2023 comic book movie flops, which included Marvel’s own “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels.”
Is Quinn worried about Marvel superhero fatigue as he gears up to shoot “The Fantastic Four” and enter the MCU? He shrugged off any concerns in an interview with Entertainment Weekly.
“I think that with the story of the Fantastic Four, it feels like we want to get this right,” Quinn said about superhero fatigue concerns. “There are aspects of it that are very different to other Marvel films. That felt very compelling to me. And again, going back to who’s involved, Matt [Shakman], of course, the director, I think is brilliant, and the cast, and I’ve read it, and the script is brilliant. It’s really brilliant. I’m delighted to have this opportunity.”
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“Superhero movies are movies about people,” he continued. “And if we’re invested in the people and the characters and the peril and the spectacle, then that’s why people go to the theaters to watch films. We’re not just in a penny; we’re in for a pound with this one. We’re going to go for it.”
Quinn is the latest actor to take a stab at Johnny Storm on the big screen following Chris Evans and Michael B. Jordan. The “Stranger Things” breakout said he remembered “really enjoying Chris Evans’ performance as Johnny in the previous films, and it felt like this would be a really exciting opportunity.”
But Evans wasn’t on Quinn’s mind when he went into the audition room. “No. I mean, you’re going to make it your own,” the actor said, adding “it’s big boots [to fill].”
“I knew that they’d been talking about making the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Universe for a while,” Quinn told Entertainment Weekly. “I had a talk with [director] Matt [Shakman], and it was very clear with the kind of people who they were attaching to it what they were trying to do with it. There are aspects of it that are very much a singular thing and its own thing.”
As concerns about superhero fatigue continue to be discussed in the comic book movie world, “The Batman” villain Paul Dano recently made headlines for telling The Independentthat perhaps it’s a good thing.
“It’s an interesting moment where everybody has to go like, ‘OK – what now?’ Hopefully from that, somebody either breathes new life into [comic book movies], or something else blossoms which is not superheroes,” Dano said. “I’m sure there will still be some good ones yet to come, but I think it’s kind of a welcome moment.”
While promoting “The Marvels” last fall, director Nia DaCostatoldTotal Film magazinethat “superhero fatigue absolutely exists.” “Guardians of the Galaxy” director and upcoming “Superman” helmer James Gunn also told Rolling Stonethat “I think thereissuch a thing as superhero fatigue.” Both filmmakers agreed that the genre has to keep being freshened up to stay profitable or else audiences will just get bored.
“I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes,” Gunn said. “It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told, and if you lose your eye on the ball, which is character. We love Superman. We love Batman. We love Iron Man. Because they’re these incredible characters that we have in our hearts. And if it becomes just a bunch of nonsense onscreen, it gets really boring.”
Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” opens in theaters July 25, 2025.
