Fantastic Four: Ioan Gruffudd Reveals Huge Original Trilogy Plans

Oh, Fantastic Four fans, gather ’round because we’ve got some major feels coming your way. Ioan Gruffudd, the guy who made stretching look impossibly elegant as Reed Richards back in the mid-2000s, just dropped some truth bombs about why we never got that third movie we were all secretly hoping for. And honestly? The whole situation still stings a little.

Ioan Gruffudd Spills the Tea on Fantastic Four 3

Let’s be real here—the early 2000s Fantastic Four movies weren’t exactly cinematic masterpieces, but they had this weird charm that somehow worked. Maybe it was Chris Evans being absolutely perfect as Johnny Storm before he became America’s golden boy, or perhaps it was the fact that Jessica Alba made invisibility look incredibly visible. Either way, those movies held a special place in our hearts, filled with superhero love.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Gruffudd recently sat down with Vulture and opened up about the franchise’s premature ending. The Welsh actor revealed something that’ll make every Fantastic Four fan’s heart skip a beat: there was supposed to be a third movie. “The mindset was that we were going to do three,” Gruffudd told Vulture.

“I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans. I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [as the Silver Surfer] on that movie, who’s just a terrific artist and an expert in the field of movement. If you want to witness somebody bringing a character to life physically, he’s just untouchable.”

When Hollywood Politics Kill Dreams

Can we take a moment to appreciate how diplomatic this man is? “Equally successful” and “equally enjoyable”—that’s some serious PR speak right there. But you know what? He’s not wrong. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer might not have been a critical darling, but it gave us some genuinely cool moments and that absolutely stunning Silver Surfer design.

Here’s where things get frustrating, though. Gruffudd explained on Vulture that the decision to scrap the third film was completely out of his hands: “So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control.”

Translation? Studio politics happened, and we got robbed of what could have been a pretty decent conclusion to the Fantastic Four trilogy. The films were distributed by 20th Century Fox, and we all know how Fox loved to make… interesting decisions with their superhero properties back in the day.

Looking at you, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

The timing of this revelation is particularly bittersweet, considering we just lost Julian McMahon, who played Victor Von Doom with just the right amount of scenery-chewing villainy. The Hollywood Reporter notes that McMahon passed away last month at age 56, making these reflections on the franchise feel even more poignant.

One of the absolute highlights of Gruffudd’s interview was his gushing about working with Chris Evans. And honestly, who wouldn’t want to gush about working with Captain America? “I absolutely loved working with him. I just remember laughing with Chris every single day on set, almost like giddy teenagers,” Gruffudd shared with genuine warmth. ”

It was a true delight to see Chris reprising Johnny, and that’s such an iconic sequence in that film. I was laughing out loud and just overjoyed by it, and it’s a beautiful homage to what Chris did as Johnny.” He’s referring to Evans’ surprise cameo in Deadpool & Wolverine, where the actor returned to his Human Torch roots in what was basically a love letter to Fox’s superhero era. That moment hit different because it reminded us just how perfect Evans was as Johnny Storm before he became the Star-Spangled Man with a Plan.

The Fantastic Four Franchise That Just Can’t Catch a Break

Let’s talk about the elephant in the room—the Fantastic Four franchise has had more failed attempts than a teenager learning to parallel park. After Gruffudd’s era ended, we got Josh Trank’s 2015 disaster The Fantastic Four (yes, they added “The” for some reason), starring Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. That movie bombed so hard it probably created its own gravitational field.

The Hollywood Reporter mentions that we now have The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which hit theaters on July 25 with Pedro Pascal, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. Pascal as Reed Richards? That’s either going to be absolutely brilliant or completely insane, and honestly, we’re here for either outcome.

Here’s the thing about the early Fantastic Four movies—they weren’t trying to be anything other than fun superhero adventures. Sure, they were cheesy as hell, but they had heart. Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm had genuine chemistry with Gruffudd’s Reed, Michael Chiklis brought real pathos to Ben Grimm, and Evans was basically born to play Johnny Storm.

Final Thoughts

The fact that we were robbed of a third movie because of studio politics still feels like a missed opportunity. These movies established a tone and dynamic that worked, even if they weren’t perfect. We could have gotten closure for these characters, maybe even seen them evolve beyond the somewhat simplistic storytelling of the first two films.