The Fantastic Four is slowly starting to take shape, and with a confirmed 1960s setting, MCU fans are eager to see what Marvel Studios has planned for its First Family of superheroes.
Outside of a cheeky reference in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, we've seen nothing to suggest this team existed on Earth-616 between Captain America's disappearance in the 1940s and Captain Marvel's first adventure in the 1990s.
With the Multiverse in play, it's possible the Fantastic Four originate from a different timeline or that they were somehow lost before arriving in the present day. That raises its own set of questions, including how much of a genius Reed Richards will be considered when he arrives in 2025!
Today, a new rumour about The Fantastic Four is doing the rounds courtesy of Beyond The Trailer's Grace Randolph. The YouTuber has a 50/50 track record (maybe 60/40), but this update lines up with what we've been hearing about the reboot too.
"The other thing that I heard was that the script has two storylines together," she explains. "The comparison I heard was a little bit like Greta Gerwig's Little Women. I did not hear what the two timelines or storylines were, one in the past or one in the future."
While it's not confirmed, we'd guess The Fantastic Four will pick up with the heroes as a fully formed team before revisiting their origin story in flashbacks (that's essentially what happened in Little Women, anyway...minus the superpowers). This feels like a sensible approach, particularly after we saw a traditional origin tale for the team play out in both 2005 and 2015.
Another possibility, of course, is that we'll meet the heroes in the present day and then flash back to the 1960s to learn how they got their powers and what brought them to Earth-616, circa 2025.
Earlier this month, Marvel Studios announced that Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) will lead The Fantastic Four cast.
The Fantastic Four, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, debuted in 1961. The team is comprised of Reed Richards (Mr. Fantastic), Susan Storm (Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ben Grimm (The Thing). They gained superpowers during a space mission, becoming Marvel's first family of superheroes.
Director Matt Shakman has worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on the latest draft of The Fantastic Four's screenplay. The movie is now scheduled to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.