John David Washington on Playing Reed Richards in the MCU: Where Do I Sign?

TenetstarJohn David Washingtonis keeping himself open for a superhero role in the MCU or the DCEU, but if the role of Mister Fantastic in aFantastic Fourreboot is ever offered, Washington has made it clear that he’d be interested. As of now, Washington has yet to take on a role in a comic book movie, but after his acclaimed performances in movies likeTenetandBlackKklansman, it’s probably just a matter of time before the studios come knocking to give him the opportunity.

Speaking about what’s next for Washington in an interview with Nerd Reactor, the actor was asked about which superhero or supervillain he’d be up for playing in acomic book movie. Here’s what he had to say in response.

“I mean, there’s so many. I think it depends on who’s asking, what director wants to do it with me. We’ll see. I want to stay open. I don’t want to box myself in. Maybe there’s characters that haven’t been mentioned yet, or have never been developed or introduced in any of the films yet.”

Earlier this year, there were rumors that Washington was in consideration to play Reed Richards – also known as Mister Fantastic – when theFantastic Fourare finally introduced into the MCU. Referring to a newFantastic Fourmovie reboot, Washington was directly asked how he would respond if Kevin Feige personally offered him the lead role of Reed Richards. Here’s how Washington responded.

“I’d say, ‘Well, thank you for having me, thank you for taking this meeting. Where do I sign?'”

Created by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, the Fantastic Four first began appearing in comic books in 1961. The team consists ofMister Fantastic, who has the ability to stretch and distort his body; the Invisible Woman, who can turn invisible at will; the Human Torch, a man with the ability to generate flames; and the Thing, a rocky superhero with superhuman strength and stone-like flesh.

In the 1990s, Roger Corman produced aFantastic Fourmovie with Alex Hyde-White asReed Richards, though the movie was never officially released to the public. The superhero team would eventually hit the big screen when director Tim Story released his ownFantastic Fourmovie in theaters in 2005, this time featuring Ioan Gruffudd as Mister Fantastic. He’d reprise the role for a 2007 sequel. The Mister Fantastic character was also featured in Josh Trank’sFantastic Fourreboot in 2015 with Miles Teller in the role.

Because none of the previousFantastic Fourmovies were set in the same universe, Reed Richards and the rest of the superhero team have yet to officially appear in the MCU. Last year, Marvel head Kevin Feige announced that a newFantastic Fourmovie set in the MCU was in development, but there have been no major updates on its progress since.

In any case, you can currently catch Washington starring alongsideThe Batmanstar Robert Pattinson inTenet, now playing in select theaters. Washington’s words come to us fromNerd Reactor on YouTube.