The star-studded cast of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quatumania just got even more interesting.
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According to Variety, The Underground Railroad’s William Jackson Harper has joined the new Marvel Cinematic Universe film. In typical Marvel fashion, we have no idea what his role is, but with the movie in post-production ahead of its Feb. 17 release, the choices are limited. He could be the voice of some strange tech or weird quantum realm creature, or he could make a short appearance as a new character in a post-credits scene. The internet has run with this theory and desperately wants him to be the Fantastic Four’s Reed Richards.
One fan tweeted, “William Jackson Harper is my #1 pick to play Reed Richards. He is taylormade for this role.”
Another user noted Harper’s excellent performance on The Good Place, writing, “William Jackson Harper spent four seasons delivering the nerdiest dialogue on television and did it so convincingly you’d think he wrote it himself. He’d be perfect for Reed Richards.”
They’re not wrong, because the Love Life star would make a perfect Reed Richards. In the last few years, we’ve seen him do over the top, absurd humor, historical drama, romantic leading man and dark comedy. Basically, he can effortlessly handle whatever the MCU’s version of the Fantastic Four turns out to be. I should also mention other fun guesses swirling around social media include everyone from Miles Morales, to the X-Men’s Hank McCoy/Beast, to the Silver Surfer.
Of course, this is all wild speculation, as Marvel and Disney focused sites like The Direct and The Disinsider are reporting rumors that Harper plays “the leader of the rebels group inside the QR [quantum realm] that fight against Kang.” Clearly, we won’t know for certain until we’re in the theater, because The Resort actor isn’t giving any hints. He responded to the casting news by tweeting, “Welp. Okay then.”
As fun as all this fan-casting is, allow me to be the party pooper who notes that he probably isn’t playing Mr. Fantastic, as the Fantastic Four movie won’t be released until February 14, 2025. In the meantime, we can all find out who William Jackson Harper is playing when Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania hits theaters Feb. 17.
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