How Fantastic 4’s Ioan Gruffudd Reacted After Seeing Chris Evans Reprise The Human Torch In Deadpool And Wolverine

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After the resounding success of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” over its opening weekend, some of you might have found yourselves dusting off that long-forgotten Disney+ subscription to revisit the early Marvel Cinematic Universe interpretations of Marvel’s First Family. In the late 2000s, it was Ioan Gruffud, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans who breathed life into these iconic characters, with Evans stepping back into his role as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch just last year for “Deadpool & Wolverine”. Curious to know how Gruffyd, who portrayed Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, reacted when he saw his former castmate set the screen ablaze once more? Here’s his take.

During a moment of reminiscing about his past work, Gruffud brought up his experiences from the 2005 and 2007 Fantastic Four films alongside the Silver Surfer. This conversation coincided with the announcement of First Steps’ release in 2025. When queried if he felt joy and fulfillment watching Chris Evans reprise his role as Johnny Storm, the actor responded affirmatively to this experience.

I experienced a surge of warmth remembering the joy we shared, as you brought up the fun times from our past. I truly cherished collaborating with him. Every day on set with Chris felt like laughter-filled days for me, almost as if we were two excited teenagers. It was such a pleasure to see Chris re-embody Johnny, especially that memorable scene in the film which is iconic indeed. The sight of it made me laugh out loud and feel incredibly elated. I must say, it’s a heartwarming tribute to Chris’ portrayal of Johnny. While he’s adored as Captain America, he’s equally beloved as Johnny Storm.

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Well, it’s great that Evans managed to reappear in the MCU for a quick, colorful comeback, bringing joy to countless viewers, including Ioan Gruffud. Despite the Fantastic Four films from the 2000s not being universally praised by critics, Gruffud found his time working with Evans on those projects enjoyable. In fact, he believes that his portrayal of Human Torch holds just as much significance for the superhero movie genre as Evans’ role as Captain America does. This sentiment comes after Michael Chiklis, who played Ben Grimm/The Thing, expressed heartfelt appreciation for the love shown by Fantastic Four fans in anticipation of First Steps‘ release in theaters.

In the upcoming Marvel movie, Avengers: Doomsday, the current version of the Fantastic Four will make an appearance, while none of the original or rebooted lineup from the 2000s and 2015 respectively will be present. However, there will be a nod to previous Fox superhero movies as Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, Rebecca Romijn, Alan Cumming, Kelsey Grammer, James Marsden, and Channing Tatum reprise their roles from the X-Men film series, with Tatum also returning as Gambit following his unexpected appearance in Deadpool & Wolverine.

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2025-08-02 20:49