You know Josh Gad, right?
He played the character of Skip in the TV series 1600 PENN. He also “penned” some episodes. (Yeah, sorry about that.) Actor-writer Gad is something of a multi-talented fella who is blowing up all over the place, as they say. He was in the hit Broadway musical THE BOOK OF MORMON. He played Woz to Ashton Kutcher’s Jobs in JOBS (2013). He was the voice of Olaf in FROZEN (2013). He’s also writing, and will star in, a GILLIGAN’S ISLAND movie reboot. He will play either Gilligan or the Skipper.
But the big rumour zipping about the Internets is that Mr Gad is set to play Ben “The Thing” Grimm in the Fantastic Four reboot. The film will be directed by Josh Trank who made the 2012 hit CHRONICLE. It has to be said there have also been a number of denials that Gad will play Grimm. Gad himself has tweeted things like” “I am currently deciding between playing Aquaman and the Flash. Will let you know when I reach a decision.”
The rumour keeps flaring up because it is said to come from an inside source connected to the casting process. As is usual for the Internet, a number of commentators don’t see Gad succeeding as Grimm. The argument goes that his career is built on chubby, nice-guy roles. But when Michael Chiklis took on the role in 2005, the world knew him for the chubby, nice-guy role of THE COMMISH, rather than the leaner and meaner Vic Mackey of THE SHIELD.
Is the rumour true or not? So far there are way more people saying no than yes, including Gad. However, others are taking the strength of the denials as a sign that there must be something to the rumours. That’s the Internet for you.
So, Gad’s not playing Ben Grimm. Unless of course it turns out that he is. Watch this space for something more definitive. Trank’s re-boot is set for release in June 2015.
