NEED TO KNOW
Ioan Gruffudd is opening up about why a third installment of the previous Fantastic Four series (in which he portrayed Reed Richards) never came to theaters.
Gruffud, 51, appeared as Reed in 2005’s Fantastic Four, and reprised the role in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
In an interview with Vulture, Gruffudd said that he and the rest of the cast of the two films (which included Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis) were on board to shoot a third installment, but 20th Century Fox ultimately decided against it.
“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,” he told the outlet. “I particularly loved working with Doug Jones [who played 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.”
He continued: “So there was definitely that sort of momentum, and the plan was to do three movies, but these decisions are beyond my control.”
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The actor is currently mired in legal drama after his ex, Alice Evans, who’s the mother to his two daughters, Elsie, 11, and Ella, 15, requested that the court increase her child and spousal support from Gruffudd. According to court documents obtained by PEOPLE, the actress, 56, is asking the court to increase Gruffudd’s child and spousal support payments from the $4,500 a month he is currently paying.
Evans claims that she and her daughters were recently evicted from their Los Angeles home because she couldn’t pay the $6,500 in monthly rent. She also claims that she had to borrow money from her friends and set up a GoFundMe account to raise donations.
In a response, Gruffudd alleges that Evans “purposely got herself evicted” and was “intentionally ceasing paying rent and instead taking the children on a vacation trip to Europe.”
Gruffudd claims that Evans’ motive is to create a false public narrative to harm his reputation and get him to give her more money.
He goes on to claim that he’s received “dozens of stressed messages from our minor children in which they have parroted Alice’s false and manufactured claims of becoming homeless in the immediate future,” which have left him “mortified.”
Evans filed for financial support from Gruffudd back in July 2024, when documents obtained by PEOPLE revealed the actress claimed she was in “dire” need following their custody agreement that was settled two months prior.
Back in October, a court ordered Gruffudd to pay $3,000 per month in child support for Ella and Elsie, whom Evans has full custody of. In addition to the child support, Gruffudd was to pay $1,500 in spousal support to Evans every month, which started in September.
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His current wife Bianca Wallace is pregnant and accompanied him to the recent Los Angeles premiere for Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which brings the characters to life with a new cast: Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing.
