MCU Rumor Roundup: Major THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Spoilers, Taskmaster's New Suit, And MCU Reboot

In our latest MCU rumour roundup, we share new intel on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including what the deal is with Galactus, Taskmaster's updated costume in Thunderbolts*, and the MCU's future...

By JoshWilding - Aug 01, 2024 09:08 AM EST

Filed Under: Fantastic Four

With Deadpool & Wolverine now in theaters, you might think that there will be far fewer rumours to sift through in the coming months. Well, guess again because there are plenty of huge MCU movies and TV shows on the way generating just as much interest as that threequel.

Thanks to The Cosmic Circus, we have some fascinating new intel on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. According to Alex Perez, Marvel Studios may use this opportunity to show us what happens when a universe ends, suggesting the plan is for Marvel's First Family to eventually make a permanent home on Earth-616.

He adds that while the reboot will begin by showing us a glimpse at the Fantastic Four's origin, when we jump to the team's present, they're no longer together and are instead doing their own thing.

However, we'd assume Reed and Sue are still an item because the scooper is insistent that Franklin Richards appears in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Avengers: Doomsday.

The Fantastic Four will reunite when Galactus threatens Earth, but there's a unique twist with the villain; apparently, like America Chavez, there's only one of him in the entire Multiverse and he feeds off planets across every reality. This presumably means he devours branched timelines and is powerful enough to travel between them.

Perez has also heard that the plan is still for Red Hulk to fight Bruce Banner "at some point," but is uncertain how Marvel Studios can squeeze in a World War Hulk project before the next two Avengers movies.

Talking of those, it sounds like the plan is still to reboot the MCU after Secret Wars, finally giving us the true Marvel Universe after He Who Remains created a Sacred Timeline which removed the threat of the Fantastic Four and X-Men.

As for Thunderbolts*, he believes Bucky isn't in the movie very much and says the current plan is for him to play a bigger role in the Doomsday and Secret Wars. As for Taskmaster (played by Olga Kurylenko), she's getting a drastic costume change which has "more of the comic-accurate look" and is compared to a S.H.I.E.L.D. uniform.

Marvel Studios may have dropped the ball with the mask (again), though, as Perez believes it "looks bad" and compares it to what DC's Red Hood wears.

The increasingly unreliable @MyTimeToShineH has also posted a couple of new scoops, including plans for a new Runaways project and the fact Wolverine will get a new suit in Avengers: Secret Wars.

Stay tuned for additional updates as we have them!

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Set Photos Show Baxter Building's Excelsior Launch Pad And Possibly Yancy St.

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51 Comments

1 2

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 9:09 AM

There is no way they could give Taskmaster a comic accurate look while retaining the actress in the role now. One of the biggest villain assassinations of the entire MCU.

Conquistador - 8/1/2024, 9:16 AM

@mountainman - Biggest is still Trevor "Manderin" Slattery. But i dug Kingsley's switch.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 9:17 AM

@Conquistador - Malekith is way worse if you read the comics.

Conquistador - 8/1/2024, 9:20 AM

@TheRogue - But at least it 'was' Malekith. haha. The Dark world as a whole was a let down though. I want to believe there's a 'Taylor' cut we'll never see.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 9:22 AM

@Conquistador - It was so bad, it might as well not be lol.

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 9:59 AM

@Conquistador @TheRogue - Tough to rank the bad villains over the years since there have been so many. Mandarin, Gorr, Malekith, Taskmaster, Whiplash, Dormamu, etc.

Likely the one each person thinks is the "worst" is the villain they liked the most in the comics. For me Gorr tops that list, even those Bale was far from the worst thing about that abomination of a movie, it was still a terrible take on such an awesome villain.

But for me Taskmaster would likely be #2. Turning a notoriously mouthy character into a silent one was almost as bad in Black Widow as it was in X-Men Origins: Wolverine. Taskmaster is just as loud and quippy as Spider-man and Deadpool, and they turned him into a mute. And that doens't even take into consderation how silly it looked for the mask to be pulled off after we saw what was obviously a man doing all the action scenes the whole movie just to have a skinny woman under the mask.

Even if they tried to make her act more like the comic character, this isn't an actress with a lot of range. Maybe they change the suit to make it look more like the comics, but there is no way she can act like the comic version of the character.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 10:08 AM

@mountainman - Even Mandarin in Shang-Chi wasn't could enough to take on Ironman was just a dude with magic bracelets.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:09 AM

@mountainman - I was gonna say gorr, but id argue he wasnt bad per se, just in a terrible movie. His plan was pretty awful, but it wasnt his fault per se. I mean its a good plan, like it would work. But its such a ridiculously cliche kid movie plan. So he's in this weird place, I mean why wouldnt he take it.

Whiplash I quite liked. Though I do hope we get crimson dyanmo soon.

Imo my main issue with taskmaster is surely there is a female spy villain they can use. Or hell at least have her talk a bit. I wouldn't taskmaster is quippy, but he should be cool, not just a diluted winter soldier.

Her scenes weren't terrible though. At least she's entertaining. My problem with malekith is, he literlly the worst villain ever.

1. He has no good motivation.
2. He can't fight. He's a [frick]ing bitch lol. He loses every single fight, its pathetic.
3. He's boring as [frick]
4. Again weak as [frick]. I think even the worst villains can at least fight a little.

Imo I hope mcu rebots and we got a scary malekith

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:10 AM

@Matador - Mandarin in shang chi could tear apart dragons. He could definilty take iron man lmao.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:11 AM

@mountainman - Speaking of Mandarin, if they announced "Iron man 4" as a logan esque movie with Mandarin that would be way better than doom return.

THough to be honest, it stil lfeels desperate

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:12 AM

@Matador - It's so funny. Everyone praised the Wenwu depiction. And I actually thought it was good too. Probably the best part of that movie.

But that was NOT the Manderin.

We've now gotten 3 bad depictions of the Manderin:
1) Trevor Slattery
2) Aldrich Killian (not a bad performance but a bad depiction of the character)
3) Wenwu (great performance but a terrible Manderin)

But I still found Gorr, Taskmaster and a few others to be more frustrating. I was really never a big fan of the traditional Manderin anyway and he'd probably come across as a dated relic if adapted accurately. With the Wenwu version, I think I would have just liked him to be more villainous. I get tired of the sympathetic villain trope.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:15 AM

@mountainman - Imo I would argue Wenwu was decent. Even Trevor was decent until the mask reveal so to speak. Aldrich is hilarious counting as mandarin

I like how he had chinese tattoos or some shit. Do they think were stupid?

Conquistador - 8/1/2024, 10:15 AM

@mountainman @TheRogue - I think Christian Bale was acting in a totally different movie. He wasn't bad but it was just not suited to the tone they went with in the movie.

I can't say i'm overly familiar with Taskmaster, but yeah if deffo sounds like they did an '09 deadpool there. Yeah Olga is quite limited, at least the stuff i've seen her in, but maybe there's a suprise or two still be had with the second appearance in Thunderbolts.

Ziggidy7 - 8/1/2024, 10:16 AM

@Matador - That dude is a centuries old warlord with alien tech/magic rings and a massive army. He could definility be a threat. Even without the rings.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:18 AM

@Conquistador - Imo I dont know much about Olga. She's pretty high profile though.

Id rather they just Tony Masters though. Plus I hate it when a character is turned into a killing machine and they just....keep being a killing machine. Be cool if she was in therapy and Toyn Masters took over, and maybe she helps stop him

Maybe say Tony Masters was her mentor. Be interesting.

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:31 AM

@Conquistador @TheRogue - The only other thing I’ve seen her in was Quantum of Solace, which she wasn’t great in but it was an overall terrible movie (worst of the Craig Bond era IMO), and Hitman, which she also wasn’t good in but it was also not a very goof movie.

Looking at the rest of the stuff she’s been in, it’s all standard mid budget action movie fare and she seems to play the pretty girl that gets caught up in the craziness and saved by the male lead a lot.

She serves that role fine enough, but Taskmaster is very different from those other roles and she hasn’t done anything in the past to prove that she can pull off the character well.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:34 AM

@mountainman - I know her from oblivion. Ngl the was overshadowed by Andrea though

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:36 AM

@TheRogue - Haven't seen it and that does look to be a different type of role than what she typically has played.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 10:37 AM

@mountainman - Should watch oblivion good film

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:46 AM

@TheRogue - Oh s***t I’ve seen it. It’s the Tom Cruise post-apocalyptic scifi movie. I really don’t remember her role, just that she was in it. I haven’t seen it since it came out though. Will need to rewatch. I remember liking it.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 10:57 AM

@TheRogue - I'm sorry but that's so untrue Shang Chi Mandarin is weaker in comparison to Comic Book Mandarin.

He used his rings like whips not a bad ground level bad guy but not an Avengers threat level.

Had they used him he could have easily been a big bad fantasy style manipulating.

Lets not forget where and who he stole those rings from Fing Fang Foom

By comparisons yeah weaker versions were created.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 11:01 AM

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 11:01 AM

@Matador - Nah man. His rings are ultra powerful alien esque tech. They can rip his armor part. Sure they arent infinity gauntlet esque like the comics, but he's still extremely dangerous.

Honestly id love to see iron man try to hit him, but he just pulls him down with his rings and beats him.

Be badass.

I do agree he should have fought iron man though.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 11:03 AM

@mountainman - I'm not saying story wise it was good in Shang Chi but not high on threat level either.

I stopped watching Marvel movies and shows after Dr. Strange 2 and Spider-Man 3 didn't catch the last disappointments.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 11:05 AM

@Ziggidy7 - If he had time to plan it just didn't show in Shang Chi nor did he feel any reason to be a threat outside his own personal world. Only thing he cared about was bringing back his dead wife by an evil malice who was the real threat.

Matador - 8/1/2024, 11:08 AM

@TheRogue - With all the tech in Ironman disposal he could just hover and keep blasting Wenwu would not have to reach to touch him. Ironman would probably tire him out he fought someone similar Whiplash.

TheRogue - 8/1/2024, 11:12 AM

@Matador - I think wenwu could propel himself or launch his rings. Whiplash is good example though, cause he'd probably act like that. To be fair he could also use his army to rocket launch him down.

RolandD - 8/1/2024, 9:15 AM

The increasingly unreliable My Tome to Shine statement in an article where most of the rumors come from The Cosmic Circus. Oh the irony.

GodHercules20 - 8/1/2024, 9:21 AM

Just scrap this Taskmaster and introduce Tony Masters. No need to waste time creating costume to this failed Taskmaster

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:01 AM

@GodHercules20 - Yes. It doesn't matter if the make her suit look like the comic one, this actress isn't a very good one and she could not pull off Taskmaster's personality, which is equally as important as his look.

bkmeijer1 - 8/1/2024, 10:14 AM

@GodHercules20 @mountainman - I get wanting Tony Masters, but I wouldn't mind if they just apply his personality to her. She didn't have one, so it's easy to apply

SpiderCop9997 - 8/1/2024, 11:13 AM

@GodHercules20 - I thought she was Tony Masters. Her first name's Tony anyway. Masters might be her original surname or her mother's maiden name or something.

Matchesz - 8/1/2024, 9:33 AM

I guess we’re still making a statement about social injustices with woke taskmaster. Would be nice to have tony masters with an actual strong personality to bounce off the other members.

mountainman - 8/1/2024, 10:08 AM

@Matchesz - I thought the Black Widow MeToo message was actually fairly well done, besides how over the top the villain was. What a waste of a great actor.

But gender swapping Taskmaster, especially when the stunts during the movie were obviously performed by a male and the actress isn't a good one and cannot pull off the Taskmaster quippy personality, wasn't needed at all for them to tell that story. Taskmaster could have been Tony Masters and just a henchman of the villain and they could have told the exact same story. Gener swapping him did not tie into that story they were telling at all. And it didn't even have any emotional impact when Natasha thought she killed the little girl. It was just a very weird and unimpactful writing decision.

TheVisionary25 - 8/1/2024, 9:48 AM

I don’t see the FF joining the main universe until after Secret Wars honestly when it is soft rebooted most likely..

Plus , if you have them being actively aware of their universe and everyone they have known no longer being around then I feel that would weigh the adventures down tremendously for a bit since you would have to deal with the emotional fallout of that situation so it might be best to play it along like they have always been there.

bkmeijer1 - 8/1/2024, 10:13 AM

@TheVisionary25 - I think that emotional connection is what would make them unique.

It's an opportunity to explore avenues previously unexplored, and the MCU shouldn't go out of the way of trying to tell such stories.

TheVisionary25 - 8/1/2024, 10:29 AM

@bkmeijer1 - perhaps but it might be just too grim (haha) for characters such as the FF but we’ll see.

Order66 - 8/1/2024, 9:51 AM

Taskmaster should have never been a woman and I swear im not being sexist.

DravenCorvis - 8/1/2024, 10:02 AM

"The increasingly unreliable @MyTimeToShineH has also posted a couple of new scoops"

Stop relying on them as a crutch then.

MCU Rumor Roundup: Major THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Spoilers, Taskmaster's New Suit, And MCU Reboot

In our latest MCU rumour roundup, we share new intel on The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including what the deal is with Galactus, Taskmaster's updated costume in Thunderbolts*, and the MCU's future...

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS Set Photos Show Baxter Building's Excelsior Launch Pad And Possibly Yancy St.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS - Michael Giacchino Confirms That He'll Compose The Score For MCU Reboot