EXCLUSIVE: Paul Walter Hauser is having quite a week. After being tapped for the role of Captain Ed in the untitled Naked Gun reboot from Paramount Pictures, as we were also first to report, we now hear the actor has come aboard Marvel Studios‘ The Fantastic Four.
For now, Hauser’s role in the superhero flick is under wraps, as is its plot. As previously reported, pic’s core cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). Most recently, Julia Garner came aboard to play Shalla-Bal, a version of Silver Surfer.
Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is directing from a script by Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. Peter Cameron (WandaVision) has also done some writing on the project. Production will begin this summer, with the film slated to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.
Boasting quite a stacked dance card at the moment, Hauser stars opposite Liam Neeson, Pamela Anderson and Kevin Durand in the Naked Gun film locked and loaded for release on July 18, 2025. Also just recently, he was tapped to star as iconic SNL cast member Chris Farley in an authorized biopic that New Line won in a bidding war. Josh Gad will direct, with Lorne Michaels and Erin David producing.
Soon to be heard voicing Embarrassment in Inside Out 2, Hauser’s other upcoming projects include Tony Tost’s directorial debut Americana with Sydney Sweeney, which premiered at last year’s SXSW and was recently acquired by Lionsgate, and Doug Liman’s Apple Original The Instigators, which has him starring opposite Matt Damon.
The actor is coming off of Emmy, Critics Choice and Golden Globe wins for his turn as serial killer Larry Hall in Apple’s crime drama Black Bird, and was also recently seen in the second season of Apple’s hit comedy The Afterparty. He is represented by CAA, Artists First, and Schreck Rose Dapello.