Ever since the announcement of the Fantastic Four reboot in 2019, fans have been scrambling to discover who will be cast in the main roles, including Johnny Storm, a.k.a the Human Torch. Over the last four years, rumors have flown about what actor will be chosen as the classic, fiery hero. The Fantastic Four have been staples in Marvel releases ever since the beginning. From the original film released in 2005 to the reboot in 2015, these characters have been beloved, even though the movies themselves weren't widely praised.

Because of the popularity of these characters, it follows that fans would have strong opinions about who will form the cast. There have been countless fancasts and rumors about who will play Johnny Storm, from Taron Egerton (who is also rumored to play Wolverine in the MCU) to Jamie Dornan. The thing all of these casting rumors have in common is the ability to play a hot-headed playboy of a character. These are the top seven actors rumored to play the Human Torch, ranked by fan excitement.

Related: Marvel's Phase 5 Botches The MCU Timeline Worse Than Ever Before (But We Fixed It)

8 Joe Keery

Joe Keery is best known for his work in Netflix's Stranger Things as Steve Harrington. Keery managed to take this character that was only meant to be around as a jerk boyfriend for a short period of time, and turned it into arguably the most beloved character on the show. This is another fancast that has been around since 2022.

This fancast had a great deal of popularity around the time that it initially came out, especially during the height of Stranger Things season 4. Keery has experience portraying the charm that is necessary for the Human Torch as is demonstrated in his role as Steve. However, as more rumors and potential actors for Johnny Storm have come to the forefront of conversation, Keery's place in the conversation has dwindled, leaving him at the bottom of this ranking.

7 Chris Evans

Chris Evans, in addition to playing Captain America in the MCU for nine years, played the Human Torch in the 2005 Fantastic Four film and 2007's sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Of course, fans have speculated that, now that Evans' run as the First Avenger is done, he could reprise his role as Johnny Storm.

Unfortunately, though, there are a few issues with this highly popular rumor. First, Evans is likely too old to play the role. Typically, Johnny Storm is presented as being between 25-30 years old, and though Evans looks great, his 42 is far beyond the normal age range. Therefore, the only likely way that Evans could reprise his role as the Human Torch would be in an older, multiversal crossover moment where audiences get to see an older version of Johnny Storm. However, it seems as though Doctor Strange 2 may have limited this crossover possibility.

6 Joseph Quinn

Yet another Stranger Things fancast, Joseph Quinn has been rumored to play the Human Torch since Stranger Things season 4 was released and the world fell in love with the super nerd, Eddie Munson. With his strong acting ability and lovable personality, fans immediately cast Quinn as Johnny Storm and created fan art depicting him in the iconic flames. These images became quite popular and spread the possibility of Quinn being cast across the internet.

Not only is Quinn around the right age for the role, but he also has the acting ability to pull it off, though he may not have as much experience as some of the other choices on this list. However, there haven't been any recent confirmations of his involvement with the MCU. This puts him lower on this list, but he would still be quite an exciting choice, were things to change in the future.

5 Austin Butler

Austin Butler, though popular before his work on Elvis, has soared to new heights after this ground-breaking role in Baz Luhrmann's film. With all the attention that he has gotten over the past year, it seems that he is lobbying to become a part of the MCU's new Fantastic 4 team. Rumors suggested that Butler has his agents working to get him involved in the Marvel Universe, specifically as Johnny Storm.

After news about this came out, the same artist who created Joseph Quinn's Human Torch fanart created similar mock-ups for Butler. Clearly, he has a good amount of support, but fans seem to have moved on to other actors as the real contenders for the coveted role. However, he certainly has the experience of playing the cocky character to bring Johnny Storm to life.

4 Zac Efron

From the very beginning, Zac Efron has been a popular fancast for the Human Torch. With his extensive experience playing all types of leading men, he would be a strong choice to add to a brand-new cast of classic characters. He is an extremely popular actor with work in countless projects, including High School Musical, A Family Affair, The Iron Claw, and many others.

With all of Efron's experience, he would certainly be able to bring more layers to Johnny Storm. However, there have been no credible reports of Efron being in talks for the role. That in addition to his age puts him lower on the list, even with a large amount of popularity and support.

3 Dacre Montgomery

The third and final Stranger Things cast member on this ranking is Dacre Montgomery. He, like Joseph Quinn and Austin Butler, was made extremely popular for this role after a beautiful fanart of him as Johnny Storm went viral early this year. Since then, he has been mentioned many times as a top pick for the role on many platforms, including Reddit and Twitter.

With his popularity after Stranger Things, and the overwhelmingly positive response to this fanart, Montgomery seems to be a strong choice for the role. He has extensive experience playing the cocky jerk but also has demonstrated a sensitive, emotional side that would bring layers to Johnny Storm. He also is the perfect age for the Human Torch, being in his late twenties.

2 Rudy Pankow

Outer Banks star Rudy Pankow is a very popular fancast, if an older one. This is a fancast that has been around since at least 2022, if not before, but it does seem to be one that holds some water. According to a Direct interview with Outer Banks star, Gary Weeks, Pankow would be a very strong choice for the Human Torch. Weeks said, "He can be sweet and amazing, but he also has this burning side. That side that wants to be heard and seen. Just exactly what I think would be perfect for the character, and you're dead on with the hair. His hair's amazing."

However, Pankow may be a bit young for the role, which is perhaps why he hasn't gotten as much hype from fans as he could have. As is stated in the same article, this would present "the character as more of a college-age rather than the mid-to-late 20s that Evans" was. In spite of this, Pankow is an immensely popular fancast, and the hype surrounding him as the Human Torch is worth second place.

1 Paul Mescal

Both the most popular and most recent rumor about the Human Torch casting, Paul Mescal belongs at the top of this rumor list. Ever since April of this year, Mescal is rumored to have been offered the role of Johnny Storm in the new Fantastic 4 reboot. Though he wasn't an actor that had a lot of hype surrounding the role like Rudy Pankow or Zac Efron, he has been the only person talked about following the information leak.

Previous rumors had suggested that the role had been offered to Mescal, and this seems to be accepted as fact across the board, though nothing has been confirmed by Marvel yet. Among all the rumors and fancasts, Mescal is the only one that has seemed to have real evidence backing it up. Additionally, it is the only Fantastic 4 fancast that has stuck around without being easily debunked. Therefore, he belongs at the top of this list until more information is released.