Fantastic Four’s Ioan Gruffudd breaks silence on canceled third movie

Fantastic Four is a namesake comic book superhero team from Marvel Comics.

Over the years, it has been adapted several times for the big screen. One of them was the 2005 film starring Jessica Alba, Ioan Gruffudd, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis.

The film was a critical and commercial success, grossing $333.5 million globally. It was followed by a sequel titled Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which was released in 2007. Despite its success, a third installment was canceled and a reboot was ordered.

Recently, Ioan revealed why the third film did not happen. Let us find out what he said.

Ioan Gruffudd reveals why a third Fantastic Four film did not happen

Ioan Gruffudd played the role of Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, in the earlier Fantastic Four franchise. After two successful installments, a third film was canceled. Ioan recently spoke to Vulture about it and said,

“The mindset was that we were going to do three, and I think the second movie was equally successful as the first and equally enjoyable for the fans,” said Gruffudd, who was attending the world premiere of the MCU entry, which features Pedro Pascal in the main role.

He added,

“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. So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control.”

Ioan had attended the premiere of the 2025 film The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In the same interview, he also addressed whether he would be in the MCU.

“I’m not in the new movie. Fans are convinced that I’m going to be in a particular aspect of this universe that hasn’t been written or filmed yet. But this idea of people showing up has been introduced, like Chris [Evans’ Johnny Storm] in Deadpool [& Wolverine], or I think Mister Fantastic appeared in the guise of John Krasinski at one point. So, no, I haven’t been approached to reprise Mister Fantastic. But you never know.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the recent entry in the franchise. Helmed by Matt Shakman, the film has Pedro Pascal playing Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic. Other cast members include Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm / Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm / The Thing), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm / Human Torch), and Julia Garner (Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer).