Marvel's upcoming Fantastic Four movie faces a task none of its predecessors have succeeded with. Getting the Richards family right on the big screen. This is the MCU's first take on the family, so maybe it has a chance. That said, the casting rumors continue to complicate things as conversation led to talk of Marvel's Fantastic Four casting Mila Kunis as The Thing.
And now that Marvel's officially announced the film, after it was the subject of speculation ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, the Fantastic Four movie exists in that gray area of casting rumors.
But why will this movie be better than the many that preceded it? Well, Disney's track record with Marvel movies is much stronger than any other studio's. On top of that, at D23 we learned FF is going to be helmed by one of the best directors in the MCU: Matt Shakman (fresh off WandaVision).
Latest Fantastic Four movie news (updated May 1, 2023)
- Mila Kunis claims to know the Fantastic Four cast
- Fantastic Four has been delayed and has a new release date: Feb. 14, 2025 (originally it was slated to come out Nov. 8, 2024)
- Marvel's Fantastic Four has a director: WandaVision's Matt Shakman
Fantastic Four movie cast
Most recently, talk of The Thing possibly being a woman bubbled up, as one leaker suggested Mila Kunis was considered for the role. The That 70's Show actress denied the casting, but Kunis she knows who's in Marvel's Fantastic Four.
Prior to that, speculation pointed at Adam Driver as Mr. Fantastic, possibly having been offered the role already.
That being said, not all is right at the moment with this latest iteration of the Fantastic Four, as a lot of negativity has been thrown toward potential casting ideas. Fortunately, water has been thrown on those rumors.
This all began when The Daily Mail had people convinced that Jennifer Lawrence was headed to Australia soon to film the new Fantastic Four movie.
Deadline's Justin Kroll squashed that rumor, by tweeting that "there is no script and it will be awhile before this film starts shooting."
No other casting rumors have bubbled up yet, but fans online really want Emily Blunt and John Krasinski (who played Reed in Doctor Strange 2) in those roles. Blunt does not agree with this idea, telling The Hollywood Reporter "I really understand that [superhero movies] are like a religion for a lot of people ... They don’t appeal to me in the same way. I don’t have this burning desire to play a superhero."
Fantastic Four movie release date delayed
Fantastic Four hits theaters on Feb. 14, 2025 — a bit delayed from its original Nov. 8, 2024 date.
Currently, the list of upcoming Marvel movies stretches out to 2026, where the new Avengers movies continue to drop.
Fantastic Four movie: References in the MCU
We're starting to see a lot of references to Marvel's first family in the MCU. For starters, a Kang the Conqueror (who also goes by the name Nathaniel Richards) variant named He Who Remains appeared in the Loki finale. Kang's long been a thorn in the Fantastic Four's side in the comics.
In that same episode, there may have been another reference to the Richards family, at least as one fan saw it. A close look at an outer-space scene may have revealed the Richards family's space ship.
