With Marvel Cinematic Universe Fans are still staggering in from the cameos Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, you might be wondering about upcoming movies, especially Fantastic Four. It was originally intended to be controlled by JonWatts (Director of Spider-Man: Homecoming, Far away from home and No way home), but Deadline reported on April 29 that he had pulled out of the project.

This movie is still early in production, but we can look at the release date possibilities and some casting options, as well as the comic and movie history of the characters.

This article contains SPOILER for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, so watch out if you haven’t seen it.

Release Date: When is Fantastic Four coming out?

The film was briefly praised in Marvel’s trailer Highlighting his upcoming films last May, but that didn’t reveal a release date and its Schedule for upcoming movies and shows for 2022, 2023 and 2024 is already packed.

In October, Disney unveiled its revised list of upcoming films through 2028. The 2023 schedule includes an untitled Marvel film releasing November 3, and four Marvel films in 2024 — due out February 16, May 3, July 26, and November 8. One of these is probably Fantastic Four (which may not be the final title of the film).

Casting: Who will play the Fantastic Four?

No casting has been announced. have fans long called to the The office‘s John Krasinski to play the stretchy team leader Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), and her wish was granted in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Krasinski’s attitude towards Reed appears as a member of The Illuminati, an elite group of heroes Strange Encounters in a Parallel Reality. He and several of his allies are quickly killed by Wanda Maximoff.

This wasn’t mainline MCU Reed, however, and it’s unclear if Krasinski will return to play this version of the character.

edge of tomorrow‘s Emily Blunt is also a popular fan choice to play Richards’ wife Sue Storm (aka Invisible Woman). The real married couple played a couple on screen back in 2018 A quiet place and its sequel in 2021so it would be great to see them bring that dynamic to the MCU.

Blunt dismissed the idea as fan-casting in 2021, but her husband, who appears as Reed, makes it seem more likely.

Who is directing Fantastic Four?

We don’t know who will take over as director after Watt’s departure, but Peyton Reed (known for directing the Ant-Man films and The Mandalorian season 2 finale) revealed in 2018 that he had directed a Fantastic Four movie in 2002 or 2003. Given his enthusiasm for the characters, Marvel could turn to him for this film.

What is the Comic Story of the Fantastic Four?

Conveniently, the intro to the ’90s animated series outlines the team’s origins and powers in an extremely memorable way.

You’re welcome. Now that you’ve got your feet tapping, let’s go over the basics. The team first appeared in the 1961s Fantastic Four No. 1from late comic book legends stan lee and Jack Kirby. This was basically the starting point for the Marvel Comics universe, as the pair would go on to co-create the Avengers and the X-Men shortly thereafter.

In the first issue, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm fly into space on an experimental rocket. They are bombarded with cosmic rays (a real thing), giving them a bunch of cool superpowers (not a real thing).

Reed can stretch his body into pretty much any shape and is codenamed Mr. Fantastic. He’s super smart too.

Sue can become invisible and create powerful force fields. She initially goes from Invisible Girl but later changes it to the more dignified Invisible Woman. She is also Reed’s fiancé and ultimately his wife.

Johnny can cover his body in flames, control fire, and fly. Known as the Human Torch. He is Sue’s brother and his catchphrase is “Flame on!”

Ben transforms into a rock monster – who takes the name Thing – with super strength and stamina. He is angry at first, but calms down over time. Glorious catchphrase: “It’s clobberin’ time!” He is pretty great.

They battle the mole in this first installment, but soon attract a rogue gallery that includes those skull (who joined the MCU in Captain Marvel), angry sea creature Namor the Sub-Mariner, planet-eating Galactus and his herald the Silver Surfer, Kree Idiot Ronan the Accuser, and Annihilus, ruler of the Negative Zone.

But one villain stands above them all.

Which Marvel villain will the Fantastic Four face?

The film’s villain is unknown, but the Fantastic Four comics happen to have one of the greatest enemies in comic book history.

Doctor Doom, also known as Victor Von Doom, was Stan Lee’s favorite villain because he is the ruler of his native country of Latveria. First appearance in the 1962s Fantastic Four No. 5, he was Reed’s college rival and ignored his advice about a bug in a machine he was working on. The resulting explosion messed up Doom’s face, and he wore a signature mask to hide his disfigurement.

Like Reed, Doom is a super smart scientist. Along with his mask, he forged advanced armor that fills the void left by Tony Stark’s fate Avengers: Endgame. He has a bunch of robotic doppelgangers – Doombots – that can take the fall in his place if heroes defeat him.

Aside from his scientific skills, Doom is a powerful wizard, so he can take it on dr Strange to. In the comics, he gained ultimate power in both the 1985 and 2015 Secret Wars storylines. He’s one of the few villains worthy of taking on in the entire Marvel Cinematic Universe. There’s no guarantee that Doom will actually appear in the first MCU Fantastic Four movie, but he’s so damn cool and iconic that he should show up in some form.

In 2017, Legion creator Noah Hawley said he was working on one Doctor Doom movie, but it’s likely that plan was postponed or changed when Disney bought Fox. In early 2020, he expressed hope that his script would fit with Marvel Studios’ plan for the character, but realized he hadn’t heard anything at the time.

You could also face off against a version of Kang the Conqueror, a time-travelling villain alluded to for his MCU counterpart Loki’s season finale. Kang will also appear in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania 2023. He is fought the Fantastic Four in the comics over the years and may be related to Reed.

previous films

The first attempt to bring the team to the screen came in 1994’s The Fantastic Four, which starred B-movie legend Roger Corman. It’s a bit like that Star Wars Christmas Special from Marvel movies. This was an origin story for the characters, but it was never released and there are conflicting stories as to why. If you’re curious, it’s on YouTube and not that bad.

The team’s first real theatrical appearance was in 2005’s Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story with Future Captain America Chris Evans as Johnny. Jessica Alba played Sue, Ioan Gruffudd was Reed and Michael Chiklis played Ben. Doom was played by Julian McMahon, and that origin story was disappointing. This came out the same year as Batman Begins, and the Fantastic Four movie seemed like a throwback to sillier superhero movies.

That didn’t stop him from getting a sequel in 2007, Rise of the Silver Surfer. This movie brought in the amazing Silver Surfer (played by Doug Jones and voiced by Laurence Fishburne), but it still wasn’t great. It’s also notorious for depicting Galactus as a cosmic storm rather than in his traditional comic book form.

The franchise was rebooted in 2015 with director Josh Trank at the helm. This movie had a great cast — Miles Teller as Reed, Kate Mara as Sue, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny, Jamie Bell as Ben, and Toby Kebbell as Doom — but it turned out to be a cheerless mess. Since then, Trank has said he has no interest in directing any more Marvel or DC films.

Let’s hope that whenever we see Marvel Studios’ attempt, it finally gives the Fantastic Four the cinematic performance they deserve.