‘The Fantastic Four’: Plot, Cast, Release Date & Everything We Know So Far
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The upcoming ‘Fantastic Four’ reboot is easily one of the most exciting projects currently in development at Marvel Studios. The movie will not only reboot the original series of movies but also introduce Marvel’s first family to the MCU.
Not much is known about the movie through official means, except for the core cast, and this core cast has been met with vastly polarizing reactions. This is why we decided to put together this guide, to address both confirmed and rumored stuff and make sense of things.
‘The Fantastic Four’ will take place in an alternate reality
Kevin Feige recently confirmed that ‘Fantastic Four’ is set in alternate retro-futuristic reality in the 60′. According to rumors Fantastic Four will already have their powers and be an established team at the start of the movie. Allegedly the first villain they will fight will be Mole Man.
We can expect Franklin Richards and Valeria Richards to be in the movie, however, rumors claim that Franklin will be born in space and due to that will be in some way connected to Galactus who will be a reason why the Fantastic Four will be forced to relocate to the new reality.
Doctor Doom is rumored to appear in the movie but in a big role, it’s supposed to be a smaller role toward the end that simply foreshadows him in the movie. Several weeks back, it was rumored that Silver Surfer (Norrin Radd) would also be in the movie but that was quickly debunked.
Keep in mind that most of the things stated here are unofficial and only rumored, so far the studio has not addressed any details in the upcoming movie save for announcing the main cast and sharing a few pieces of artwork.
During the Fantastic Four day, almost exactly a month ago, Marvel shared a list of free ‘Fantastic Four’ comics for the fans:
- Fantastic Four (1961) #1
- Fantastic Four (1961) #48
- Fantastic Four (1961) #49
- Fantastic Four (1961) #50
- Fantastic Four: Life Story (2021) #1
The first issue introduced the team in Marvel comics, while issue #48 marked the debut of iconic characters like the Silver Surfer and Galactus. Subsequent issues depicted the Silver Surfer’s rebellion against Galactus. The latest comic, ‘Life Story,’ celebrated the team’s 60th anniversary with a unique story where the characters aged in real-time from the 1960s to the present day, offering a comprehensive journey through their history. So at least we can bet that the movie will take place in alternate ’60 this is as good as confirmed.
The core cast is known, but it’s controversial
The cast of the movie was pretty much known almost a year before it was officially announced, mostly thanks to leakers and rumors. But the recent casting of Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal left a bitter taste in everyone’s mouth since fans quickly started losing interest due to Disney once again perhaps sacrificing the accuracy of the source material to check the DEI checklist. The current cast is as follows:
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm aka Human Torch
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm aka The Thing
- Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal aka Silver Surfer of that reality
- Paul Walter Hauser in an undisclosed role
- Ralph Ineson as Galactus
- John Malkovich in an undisclosed role
- Natasha Lyonne in an undisclosed role
The movie is aiming toward a 2025 release date
‘The Fantastic Four’ is scheduled to be released on July 25, 2025. Filming is anticipated to kick off in August 2024 at Pinewood Studios in London. Director Matt Shakman, known for his work on Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series “WandaVision” (2021), was initially in discussions to helm the film. Kevin Feige officially confirmed Shakman as the director at the D23 Expo the following month. In September, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were announced as the screenwriters. By March 2023, Josh Friedman had taken over script rewriting duties, with Cameron Squires joining as a co-writer in October.
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