Mila Kunis may be cast as The Thing in the upcoming “Fantastic 4” film if you believe a rumor spreading on Twitter this morning.
When a Hollywood insider named @MyTimeToShineH stated Mila was in talks to play a female version of Ben Grimm, the bird app went into a frenzy. The insider is known for gaining scoops before trade newspapers and generally being in the know on superhero news.
They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them
— MyTimeToShineHello (@MyTimeToShineH) April 28, 2023
In the comics, Grimm is the name of the guy that transforms into The Thing… a big orange rock figure who fights crime alongside Mr. Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, and the Human Torch.
MTTSH writes, “They are looking at Jewish actors, both male AND female for The Thing in Fantastic Four. Mila Kunis is one of them.” They added that the director of the upcoming 2025 flick, Matt Shakman, insisted Grimm be portrayed be a real-life Jewish actor … as the character is explicitly depicted as Jewish in the comic books, albeit in later iterations.
In case you missed it, The Thing is a male character… and has always been portrayed as such. Whether it was Chuck McCann in the 1990s cartoon, Michael Chiklis in the 2000s film, or Jamie Bell in the 2010s iteration, The Thing has always been portrayed as a man.
However, based on this report – or, more accurately, gossip – it appears that Marvel is considering a gender swap… or, at the very least, considering it.
As you may expect, Twitter users are mostly dissatisfied with the news. The jokes are flying, and the general conclusion appears to be that if Kevin Feige and company continue down this path, many fans will abandon the studio… as they regard it as going too far.
Mila Kunis
Of course, this isn’t the first time a woman has taken on a traditionally male role; it happened in “Ghostbusters” and, more recently, “Black Panther 2” and “She-Hulk,” among other films. The point is… it’s been done before, and sometimes successfully.
