If you're at all familiar with Marvel's First Family, then you'll know they've had to stop Galactus from consuming Earth on countless occasions. However, in Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four, it appears the World-Eater will have a very different reason for visiting the planet.
Undeterred by Disney and Marvel taking legal action to discover their identity, scooper @CanWeGetToast has shared a rumour today claiming that Galactus comes to Earth in search of Franklin Richards (who is reportedly "born in space").
The son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, Franklin is an incredibly powerful mutant with the ability to create new realities and even rewrite his own.
He has a complicated history with Galactus which has included him actually taking the villain's place in the "Earth X" reality and making the big bad his Herald back on Earth-616 to fend off a Celestial attack. We don't know which comics The Fantastic Four is pulling inspiration from, but it looks like we should gear up for a deep dive into the team's mythology here.
There's also been chatter in recent days that Galactus is a Multiversal threat. While we don't anticipate him replacing Kang as this Saga's main antagonist, don't be surprised if this movie has major consequences for the Multiverse Saga.
There's no word on who will play Franklin, but Game of Thrones star Ralph Ineson recently boarded The Fantastic Four as Galactus.
"I think that with the story of the Fantastic Four, it feels like we want to get this right," Human Torch actor Joseph Quinn recently said of the movie. "There are aspects of it that are very different to other Marvel films. That felt very compelling to me. And again, going back to who's involved, Matt, of course, the director, I think is brilliant, and the cast, and I've read it and the script is brilliant. It's really brilliant. I'm delighted to have this opportunity."
"Superhero movies are movies about people," he added. "And if we're invested in the people and the characters and the peril and the spectacle, then that's why people go to the theaters to watch films. We're not just in a penny; we're in for a pound with this one. We're going to go for it."
Marvel Studios has 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. Julia Garner has also joined the reboot as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer.
Recent additions to the cast include Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich in mystery roles, along with Ralph Ineson as the villainous Galactus.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four's screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) recently coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.