NEED TO KNOW
A quirky deleted scene from the 2005 Fantastic Four film shows Reed Richards – played by Ioan Gruffudd – morphing his face into Wolverine in a playful attempt to impress Sue Storm, portrayed by Jessica Alba.
Despite its intention of being a lighthearted nod to the X-Men franchise, the scene never made it into the final cut of the film. If it did, it would have been one of the earliest crossover teases in superhero cinema.
Looking back, Gruffudd told Vulture in a recent interview that he was never told why the scene was scrapped.
20th Century Fox
“I don’t know why that didn’t make it into the film. Paying homage to the great Hugh Jackman was quite a thrill because I absolutely love him as an actor and his Wolverine,” he told the outlet. “I’m glad that it has a chance to exist somewhere.”
The 51-year-old actor also revealed that the scene was actually “a reshoot,” noting, “I was in Vancouver on a soundstage and Jessica was in New York, so we weren’t actually together, but we look perfectly in sync.”
Some fans believe the deleted Wolverine scene was cut due to its noticeably weak CGI, which made the moment feel more awkward than amusing.
20th Century Fox
Others think the decision was made to avoid the complications of merging the Fantastic Four and X-Men universes, which were never fully connected on screen.
Still, Gruffudd jokingly agreed that, technically speaking, he has “played both Mister Fantastic and Wolverine.”
“For a brief second, yes,” he said with a laugh. “That’s a good pub-quiz question.”
Gruffudd was the first to portray Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, the brilliant leader of the Fantastic Four, whose space experiment gone wrong gives him the power to stretch his body. He also returned in the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
20th Century Fox
The 2015 reboot reimagined Reed as a college-age genius, played by Miles Teller, shifting the character away from the more mature version seen in earlier films.
Now, a decade later, Pedro Pascal takes on the role in Marvel’s reboot, aiming for a portrayal closer to the original comics. The Fantastic Four: First Steps premiered on July 25, 2025.
Gruffudd attended the world premiere of the film at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles with his pregnant wife, Bianca Wallace. It marked their first red carpet appearance since announcing they are expecting a baby.
The couple tied the knot earlier this year on April 25. Gruffudd also shares two daughters, Elsie, 11, and Ella, 15, with ex Alice Evans.
