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 Fantastic Four have been MIA. But, hope is on the horizon! The Fantastic Four will be part of the MCU’s Phase Six.
Speaking to The Official Marvel podcast, Kevin Feige confirmed exactly when The Fantastic Four movie would begin to film. He revealed, “We start shooting at the end of July… The day after [San Diego] Comic-Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four.” That means The Fantastic Four begins filming on July 29. He also confirmed that the movie would be a period piece set in the 1960s.
Here’s everything we know about the MCU’s The Fantastic Four movie.
Title
All the initial branding from Marvel indicated the movie’s title would be Fantastic Four. 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.”
Now we know that to slightly stand out, the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie will be called The Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four‘s Plot
Zero idea currently what the plot of the movie will be. Not a sausage. Bugger-all.
Behind the Scenes
The 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 of that same year.
Later in September, Marvel said Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were writing the script for The 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.
The Fantastic Four‘s Cast
The MCU’s Fantastic Four team has officially set its cast. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman. Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play The Thing. Finally, Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch.
Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) will play the Shalla-Bal version of Silver Surfer. In the comics, Shalla-Bal appeared as Norrin Radd’s partner, but at one point, she received the same powers as the Silver Surfer and they were both Galactus’ heralds.
Paul Walter Hauser has also joined the cast, as have John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne. We don’t know who these actors are playing. We do know Ralph Ineson will be playing Galactus.
The Fantastic Four‘s Release Date
The Fantastic Four will release on July 25, 2025.
Originally published on December 22, 2023.
