Fantastic Four is Marvel’s most important movie since Endgame, with the future of the Multiverse Saga and the MCU as a whole directly tied to it.
This article contains SPOILERS for Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four (2025) is the MCU’s most important movie since Avengers:Endgame and arguably one of the studios’ most important releases since Iron Man (2008). As the MCU introduces Kang the Conqueror and his variants ahead of Avengers:The Kang Dynasty, the sci-fi aspect of the Marvel Universe – namely time travel and the multiverse – becomes more and more essential for future movies and shows. When it comes to time travel and the multiverse, not many characters are as ready to deal with alternate dimensions and variants as the Fantastic Four, Marvel’s first family of superheroes that is now heading to the MCU.
The MCU is saving its Avengers movie return to Phase 6, which will see the releases of both The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars. Still, the Avengers’ comeback is not the only highly anticipated part of Marvel’s Phase 6 slate. After years in which having the Fantastic Four interacting with the Avengers and other Marvel characters seemed impossible, given that the movie rights to the Fantastic Four and its supporting characters belong to Fox and not Disney, Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm will finally be in the MCU.
5Marvel’s Fantastic Four Will Be The Fourth Attempt At An FF Adaptation
Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie will bring the fourth live-action iteration of the titular characters, the first being the unreleased 1994 Fantastic Four film. The Fantastic Four only properly debuted in live-action in 2005’s Fantastic Four, which was followed by a sequel in 2007, Fantastic Four: The Rise of the Silver Surfer. While Fox’s first two Fantastic Four movies nailed some aspects of the characters, especially the family interactions, there was nothing particularly remarkable about the early 2000s Fantastic Four movies, which led to a third film never happening. Whereas the Fox X-Men movies were never completely rebooted, the Fantastic Four franchise started over in 2015.
Fantastic Four (2015), inspired by Marvel’s Ultimate Universe, offered a new take on the Fantastic Four origin story, now incorporating alternate dimensions and the Negative Zone as the source of Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben’s powers rather than cosmic radiation from space. The third attempt at a Fantastic Four origin story, the 2015 reboot had a great cast of up-and-coming actors who could have led this new Fantastic Four franchise, but the film was a disappointment. Therefore, Fantastic Four’s cinematic history has so far consisted of an unreleased feature, a series of two films that never matched Fox’s X-Men movies’ success, and a disastrous reboot that did not break even.
4Marvel’s Phase 4 Failures Reveals The MCU Needs Major IPs
The MCU has grown successful enough not to need to rely on major, established characters for all of its movies and shows. In fact, the Marvel Cinematic Universe was built on characters that, compared to the Fantastic Four, the X-Men, and Spider-Man, were not that recognizable for those who were not familiar with Marvel Comics – Iron Man, for example. That said, for a post-Avengers: Endgame MCU, the expectations are much higher than they were when Iron Man was released. With several superhero movies and TV shows from both Marvel and DC releasing every year, it is now more difficult for a release to stand out.
Following the deaths of Iron Man and Black Widow and the retirement of Steve Rogers, plus the Hulk becoming Smart Hulk and leaving the fight behind, the MCU can no longer count on its original Avengers lineup. Though multiple Marvel characters are yet to debut in live-action or that could now have a larger role in Avengers stories, major superheroes IPs like Spider-Man or the X-Men can always help a franchise when it comes to the box office. For example, the MCU’s highest-grossing movie since Avengers: Endgame was Spider-Man: No Way Home, released by Sony, whose biggest selling point was the Spider-Man legacy crossover.
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Although the context of the pandemic has to be considered, Marvel’s recent movie releases may be pointing to a worrying MCU box office problem. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness outgrossed the first film by a significant margin, yet it did not break the billion-dollar barrier like No Way Home; both Thor: Love and Thunder and Black Panther: Wakanda Forever grossed less than their respective predecessors, and Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania just had the MCU’s worst second-weekend drop. Therefore, adding the X-Men and the Fantastic Four into the MCU should be more essential to the franchise than ever, as those could become box office titans.
3Marvel Has Taken Its Time With Fantastic Four
Marvel Studios has been able to use the Fantastic Four and the X-Men since 2019 following Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox. At the end of 2020, Marvel’s Fantastic Four was announced, with MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts set to helm the MCU reboot film. Watts would later exit the project, and Matt Shakman’s Fantastic Four is now set to release on February 2025. As such, almost six years will have passed since Disney bought Fox by the time the MCU’s Fantastic Four reboot premiers. The fact that Marvel is not rushing the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut reveals how important the IP is for the studio.
2The Kang Dynasty & Secret Wars Only Work If Fantastic Four Is Successful
Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars, Marvel’s best chance at beating Avengers: Endgame in terms of scale and perhaps even box office, most likely rely on Fantastic Four (2025) not only for the story but also to increase the expectations for the Multiverse Saga’s conclusion. Though not much is known about The Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars’ stories, it is no coincidence that Fantastic Four (2025) will premiere as part of the MCU’s Phase 6, right before Avengers 5 hits theaters. The Fantastic Four are intrinsically linked to the multiverse, and it is difficult to imagine a Kang-focused story or a Secret Wars adaptation without Marvel’s First Family.
Kang’s first Marvel Comics appearance, although still not as Kang the Conqueror but instead as Rama-Tut, happened in a Fantastic Four comic – with the character’s origins being later linked to Doctor Doom and Reed Richards himself. The Fantastic Four is now expected to play a pivotal role in everything regarding Kang the Conqueror’s MCU future, especially considering that Rama-Tut appeared in Quantumania’s Council of Kangs. Likewise, if the MCU’s Secret Wars adapts some aspects of the 2015 Secret Wars comic book arc, then getting the Fantastic Four right at the beginning of Phase 6 is crucial. That is not to mention a potential Doctor Doom introduction.
RELATED:Biggest Fantastic Four Movie Mistakes The MCU Can Learn From
1The Fantastic Four Are Going To Be The Foundation For The MCU’s Future
According to Kevin Feige (via EW), the idea is for the Fantastic Four to be “a big pillar of the MCU going forward,” just like Marvel’s First Family laid out the path for a lot of Marvel Comics characters and storylines. Despite not having a solid cinematic track compared to Spider-Man or the MCU itself, the Fantastic Four are among the most important characters in the history of not only Marvel but comic books as a whole. Several superhero tropes and story beats originate from the early Fantastic Four adventures, which makes nailing the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie even more important – and difficult.
Iron Man and the Avengers built the foundation for the MCU’s first decade and a half, and while Earth’s Mightiest Heroes will likely continue as the franchise’s flagship characters, the Fantastic Four can allow the Marvel Universe to reinvent itself without the need for a reboot. Between the family dynamic and the sci-fi aspect, the Fantastic Four can bring something completely new to the MCU during Phase 6 and beyond, with Mr. Fantastic, Invisible Woman, the Thing, and Human Torch at the center of Marvel stories that are yet to be adapted for live-action. Just like Avengers: Endgame, Marvel’s Fantastic Four (2025) is set to be a game-changing Marvel film.
