When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, lo those many years ago, that immediately meant all the X-Men characters could appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also meant Fox’s other (and let’s face it, far less successful) Marvel property, the Fantastic Four, was joining the fray. However, aside from a Reed Richards cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the FF have been MIA. But, hope is on the horizon! Marvel Studios has a feature film on the books as part of its mythical (and ever-changing) Phase Six roster, and here’s everything we know!
Title
Right now, all branding and listing from Marvel indicates the movie’s title will be Fantastic Four. The logo is just the numeral “4,” so it’s certainly possible it will just have the title 4. However, that seems like pretty bad branding if you ask us.
Of the three previous Fantastic Four movies, two of them were just called Fantastic Four—despite the ill-fated 2015 movie’s logo making people call it “Fant-4-stic.” Do we think Marvel Studios wants to completely distance itself from the previous movies? It wouldn’t hurt, but for now, this’ll be movie three called Fantastic Four.
Fantastic Four‘s Plot
Zero idea currently what the plot of the movie will be. Not a sausage. Bugger-all.
Behind the Scenes
Fantastic Four is possibly the most in-flux title in the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe slate. Marvel Studios president and primary producer Kevin Feige announced the movie at San Diego Comic-Con 2019. Marvel then named Jon Watts, who directed the three Tom Holland Spider-Man films for Sony and Marvel, in December 2020. Watts then stepped away from the project in April 2022, stating he was taking a break from superhero movies.
Then in August 2022, Marvel named Matt Shakman—who had directed WandaVision for Disney+—as Watts’ successor. Feige confirmed this at the D23 Expo in September that same year.
Later in September, Marvel said Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were writing the script for Fantastic Four. By March 2023, Terminator franchise and Avatar: The Way of Water screenwriter Josh Friedman was at work rewriting the script. In October 2023, Cameron Squires’ name was added as co-writer.
The movie has a scheduled start of production for early 2024.
Fantastic Four‘s Cast
No cast for the movie has yet been officially announced. While John Krasinski played a Reed Richards from a separate universe in Multiverse of Madness, every indication is that he will not reprise the role in the FF movie.
Shakman said he would announce casting following the conclusion of the SAG-AFTRA strike. The industrial action ended on November 9, 2023. By November 15, rumors swirled that redhot actor Pedro Pascal, of The Last of Us and The Mandalorian, would play Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic. However, by December 2023, no one had confirmed that.
Rumors have continued around the other members of Marvel’s first family. These include the likes of Vanessa Kirby and Jodie Comer as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman. Stranger Things breakout Joseph Quinn was reportedly the frontrunner to play Johnny “The Human Torch” Storm, while The Bear‘s Eban Moss-Bachrach was rumored for Ben Grimm, the ever-lovin’ blue-eyed Thing.
None of these rumors have been confirmed, however with the movie’s scheduled start date approaching, we expect it some time soon.
Fantastic Four‘s Release Date
Fantastic Four currently has a drop date of May 2, 2025.