Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne joins Marvel's Fantastic Four reboot in mystery role

Natasha Lyonne on SNL and Fantastic Four promo image
(Image credit: NBC / Marvel Studios)

Marvel Studios is filling out the cast for its upcoming Fantastic Four MCU reboot film, with Russian Doll and Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne as the latest actor to tag in for the currently filming movie in an unnamed role, as reported by Deadline

Lyonne's casting is the third such mystery addition in recent weeks, following the castings of Paul Walker Hauser, and John Malkovich, whose roles also remain unrevealed. Speculation on their castings has run rampant, with Hauser recently confirming that his character is indeed someone from comics and has a connection to the Fantastic Four.

For my own speculation, the casting of three mystery roles in succession could indicate that Marvel Studios is building out an MCU version of the FF's rival villain team, the Frightful Four, which was originally comprised of mad scientist The Wizard, Spider-Man enemy The Sandman, Medusa of the Inhumans (under the Wizard's brainwashing), and infamously silly Human Torch villain Paste-Pot Pete. 

Could Lyonne be playing Medusa? She has the hair for it, and Marvel was brave enough to bring in a comics accurate version of her husband Black Bolt in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness after the crash-and-burn reception of ABC's doomed Inhumans show.

It's not hard to imagine Malkovich as the Wizard. And even the fan-favorite theory that Hauser is playing the Mole Man could hold true, if he's subbed in as a member of the Frightful Four.

Whoever she's playing, Lyonne joins confirmed cast members Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, Eben Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing, Julia Garner as an alt-reality version of the Silver Surfer, and Ralph Ineson as Galactus.

Fantastic Four is due out in theaters in July 2025.

These are the five comics Marvel says you should read before seeing the Fantastic Four movie.

George Marston

I've been Newsarama's resident Marvel Comics expert and general comic book historian since 2011. I've also been the on-site reporter at most major comic conventions such as Comic-Con International: San Diego, New York Comic Con, and C2E2. Outside of comic journalism, I am the artist of many weird pictures, and the guitarist of many heavy riffs. (They/Them)

Read more
The Silver Surfer in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
Fantastic Four's Julia Garner has perfect response to whether Silver Surfer will be live-action or CGI in the upcoming Marvel movie
Red Ghost and the Super-Apes on the attack
John Malkovich's Fantastic Four: The First Steps character might be The Red Ghost, a Russian cosmonaut who hangs out with three super-powered apes - and I couldn't be more excited
John Malkovich in Fantastic Four: First Steps
Fantastic Four star John Malkovich says shooting the Marvel movie was very "odd" because "nothing is really there except giant screens and 18 epic cranes"
Fantastic Four: promotional art for the new Marvel movie, The Fantastic Four First Steps
Fantastic Four: release date, cast, director, and everything else we know
The Punisher
Marvel fans are now realizing that Fantastic Four's The Thing star has been in the MCU before
Furiosa
Spider-Man 4 may include a Marvel heroine although Sony cannot confirm it will be Anya Taylor-Joy as Black Cat, says boss: "There’s a lot of fantastic female characters, but I can't talk about all this"
Latest in Marvel Movies
The cast of Thunderbolts
Marvel fans are revealing who they'd like to see added to the Thunderbolts lineup, from Moon Knight to a major Hulk villain
Black Widow
Scarlett Johansson doubles down on never coming back as Black Widow: “Natasha is dead. She is dead. She’s dead. Okay?"
Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom in 2005's Fantastic Four
The Doctor Doom actor from 2005's Fantastic Four thinks Robert Downey Jr.'s take on the role in the next Avengers movies will be "pretty extraordinary": "I love watching his work"
Anthony Mackie in Captain America: Brave New World
Brave New World box office crosses milestone for Captain America movies, even though it still might not break even
Black Widow post-credits
Avengers Tower will have a new name in Thunderbolts, and the movie's director says it's "a symbol of things taking a darker turn"
The cast of Thunderbolts
Thunderbolts director says the new Marvel movie is inspired by Toy Story 3: "Can they get out of the trash can together?"
Latest in News
Dino Crisis 2 art showing a young woman and man back-to-back amid tall green grass, both with their weapons drawn
Dino Crisis gets a fresh trademark filing by Capcom, but it might not mean the 26-year-old survival horror franchise will get a new installment like fans expect
Cujo
Netflix is making a brand new adaptation of Cujo, the infamous Stephen King book about a killer dog
Dragon Age 2
Veteran Dragon Age dev says one big delay is better than several small ones: "You are laying band-aid on top of band-aid on top of band-aid"
Death Stranding 2: On the Beach
Dark Souls 2 fans remind Death Stranding 2 director Hideo Kojima that he won’t be taking the DS2 acronym that easily
Minecraft Diamond Armor
Minecraft Pocket Edition got its name because one of its devs was a big "Nintendo nerd" who wanted to pay homage to the Game Boy Pocket
Death Stranding 2
Hideo Kojima says Death Stranding's themes of connection came about because "I thought I lost everything when I became alone nine years ago"