The Fantastic Four Star Reveals Why They Didn’t Read the Comics as a Kid

Ebon Moss-Bachrach read Archie and Elfquest as a kid.

Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot is set to debut next year, and the Marvel Cinematic Universe project is already earning quite a lot of buzz. Fans are definitely curious to see how the ensemble cast of The Fantastic Four will approach the team’s iconic Marvel Comics tenure, and now one member of that roster is sharing his familiarity with the comics world. In a recent interview with Variety, Ben Grimm / The Thing actor Ebon Moss-Bachrach revealed which comics he read as a kid, largely naming titles outside of the superhero space. Moss-Bachrach recently told Jimmy Kimmel Live! that he was given a subscription to Marvel’s digital Marvel Unlimited service, which has helped him read comics to prepare for his upcoming role.

“I was a comic book fan, but the comic books I read when I was a kid were more like the cheaper kind of ones I could get from the five-cent bin,” Moss-Bachrach explained. “I liked Archie, some Richie Rich. I really liked Groo. I liked Elfquest a lot. I think some of my earliest sexual visions were Elfquest.”

What Is the New Fantastic Four Movie About?

Plot details have not been revealed for Marvel’s The Fantastic Four. Directed by WandaVision‘s Matt Shakman, the film stars Moss-Bachrach, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, with Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer, and Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich in currently-unknown roles. 

“It’s different in so many ways,” Shakman explained in a 2023 interview. “I wish I could be specific. I wish I could say more. But we are doing things very differently from a story standpoint, from an approach to the filmmaking standpoint, that really fits the material. I wish I could say more. I would love to, but I can’t. But I think it’s going to be unlike anything you’ve seen before, and certainly unlike anything at Marvel that you’ve seen before.”

“We have been nonstop,” Shakman said of the pre-production work on the film. “Despite the strikes, yes, we’ve been working with the effects and with production design and building our world, and that’s been incredibly exciting. You know, how do you translate those skills into live-action in dynamic ways? Because some things that work beautifully in John Byrne and Jack Kirby are a little tougher when you’re filming them. How do you make sure that things are exciting but also grounded in a scientific thing, which is also part of the Fantastic Four that I love? There’s some stuff I’m super excited about. I can’t say too much, you know?”

The Fantastic Four is currently scheduled to debut in theaters on July 25, 2025.