The Fantastic Four Lead Stars Announced

Wave farewell to the good ol' days as Fox brings in its new, teen-appeasing recruits.
The Wrap have today announced the four actors set to take on the lead roles in 20th Century Fox's upcoming superhero film The Fantastic Four. This reboot of the Fantastic 4 franchise will not retain any of the series' original cast, instead opting for a younger gang of crime-fighters and a narrative that will integrate itself into the pseudo-Marvel Cinematic Universe which Fox is gradually building with the release of X-Men: Days of Future Past this Summer.

Let's get straight to it, then- which lucky thespians are taking over from Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis in sixteen months' time? The truth lies below...

• Miles Teller will portray Reed Richards, the leader of the team and a renowned scientific figure. Teller has previously starred in motion pictures including Divergent, Project X, 21 & Over and Rabbit Hole, yet it's safe to say that this performance could very well be his big break.
• Next up Jamie Bell, who is taking over from Chiklis as none other than Ben Grimm. As is the case with each of the four performers in question, Bell's filmography so far isn't particularly substantial, with his turns in Peter Jackson's King Kong and Steven Spielberg's The Adventures of Tintin marking the highlights of his career- until now, of course!
• Meanwhile, the woman who's got the unenviable job of following on from Jessica Alba as Sue Storm is Kate Mara. Anyone who's currently catching up with House of Cards will see Mara there playing Zoe Barnes. However, other than cameos in Brokeback Mountain and Shooter, she hasn't been up to much on the big-screen, so her casting here represents a major leap of faith for Fox and director Josh Trank...
• Finally, Michael B. Jordan is taking on the mantle of the Human Torch, aka Johnny Storm, in the reboot. Jordan's best-known work is undoubtedly his portrayal of Wallace in The Wire, although to his credit, he's featured in a number of other major entertainment releases of the last decade such as Gears of War 3, House, Bones and Lie To Me. He's a household name compared to the remainder of the cast, then, and incidentally, he'll play the first non-Caucasian incarnation of the Human Torch ever, which is certainly a major step forward in light of the racist and sexist allegations which are frequently tossed in Marvel's direction.

The Fantastic Four sends a fateful meteor hurtling into cinemas worldwide on June 19th, 2015.