'Fantastic Four' reboot movie casting news expected soon, and is Josh Gad possibly up for The Thing role?

[Update: Director Josh Trank denied the rumors of Gad's casting on Twitter.]

The casting and plot rumors for the Fantastic Four reboot movie, directed by Josh Trank (Chronicle) continue to swirl as we move closer to any official casting announcements. We've already heard that Michael B. Jordan (Friday Night Lights, Fruitvale Station, The Wire) is reportedly a lock for the role of The Human Torch, and numerous other names have been floated for the other parts (we'll get to those in a bit). Now, another report claims to have some information on The Thing.

Movies.com reports that it is "hearing that Josh Gad is Fox's number one choice for the role of Ben Grimm (aka the ever-lovin', blue-eyed Thing) in the impending Josh Trank reboot of Fantastic Four." The site calls it "one of those 'I never thought of that' bits of casting rumor that just feels right. There's an innate sweetness to Gad that would shine through Grimm's orange, rocky exterior in a drastically different way than forcing a bruiser to act sweet. Once you hear it, it's easy to imagine him in the running as the studio's top choice."

There's a lot of truth to that statement, and casting Gad would track well with the rumored direction in which Trank plans to take the reboot. Other names rumored for parts in the movie include Miles Teller for Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Alison Williams as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Other names have been mentioned, but all signs seem to point to a younger, more fresh-faced version of the Fantastic Four as opposed to a group of older characters.

Again, take all of this with a grain of salt until Fox officially makes a casting announcement, which should be coming within the next few weeks.

What do you think, Fantastic Four fans? Would Gad be a good choice for The Thing? Let us know in the comments below.