Although Variety indicates that Twentieth Century Fox wants to announce the names of all four principal actors in its upcoming film of Marvel's Fantastic Four at once, Avi Arad keeps mentioning Emmy Award-winning actor Michael Chiklis as the studio's top choice to portray Ben Grimm (aka 'The Thing).  According to Variety The Fantastic Four film, with Tim (Barbershop) Story set to direct, should go into production this August.  Look for a major announcement on the casting of The Fantastic Four very soon, and no one should be surprised if the tough-as-nails star of The Shield ends up portraying the craggy, irascible Ben Grimm.