Previous reports have indicated that cameras were set to begin rolling on Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four reboot around April, but it seems the production has been hit with a delay which could ultimately lead to the movie's May 2025 release date being pushed back.
According to Jeff Sneider, filming won't get underway until Q3 (between July and September), and he believes a release date change may be imminent.
In addition, Pedro Pascal - who is now said to be a lock to play Reed Richards - has been forced to drop out of Barbarian director Zach Cregger’s new horror film, Weapons, in order to clear his schedule for FF.
We're still waiting on that official cast announcement, but it's looking highly likely that Pascal will be joined by Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible - Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Punisher, The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing.
There are rumors that both Cillian Murphy (Oppenheimer) and Mads Mikkelsen (Rogue One) are top picks to play Doctor Doom, but other actors are sure to be in contention.
The team's most prolific foe is not expected to have a significant role in the reboot (in fact, he may only show up in the post-credits scene), but the villain could well emerge as the new big bad of the Marvel Cinematic Universe - especially after the recent news that Marvel has decided to part ways with Kang actor Jonathan Majors.
Several well-placed sources have claimed that Doom will be one of the main villains of Avengers: Secret Wars.
Javier Bardem is said to be the top choice for Galactus, but his schedule may prevent him from signing on. The Eater of Worlds' herald is believed to be Silver Surfer, but a female take on the character. A recent rumor claimed that Anya Taylor-Joy is being eyed for that role.
Matt Shakman will direct FF from a script by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. Plot details are still a mystery, but Kevin Feige has confirmed that this will not be another origin story for the super-team.
“A lot of people know this origin story. A lot of people know the basics. How do we take that and bring something that they’ve never seen before?” he said in a 2022 interview, comparing this new take on the heroes to Marvel Studios' pact with Sony to bring Spider-Man into the MCU. “We’ve set a very high bar for ourselves with bringing that to the screen.”