Everything we know about Marvel’s “Fantastic Four ”movie

Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm are officially joining the MCU in 2025.

Marvel’s First Family is returning to theaters.

After three previous film attempts, a new Fantastic Four movie is hitting the screen, this time as part of the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel and Disney first announced plans to reboot the iconic superhero team back in 2019, and now, those plans have become a reality, with WandaVision’s Matt Shakman helming a new take on the iconic quartet.

Before the new Fantastic Four hits theaters in 2025, read on for everything we know about the new film.

Why a Fantastic Four reboot?

The Fantastic Four has long been a staple of Marvel comics: Marvel legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby first introduced the unconventional family in 1961, following four scientists as they gained powers after being exposed to cosmic radiation. The core four became one of Marvel’s most beloved superhero teams: Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Ben Grimm/The Thing, and Johnny Storm/The Human Torch.

Back in the 1980s, Marvel sold the film rights to all things Fantastic Four, and there was a low-budget attempt at a film in the ‘90s. (It was ultimately never released.) In 2005, Fox released the first big-screen Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story and starring Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and future Captain America, Chris Evans. (They returned in 2007 for a sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer.) Then, in 2015, Josh Trank directed another reboot attempt for Fox, this time starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, and Michael B. Jordan.

Despite the quartet’s popularity in the comics, the film adaptations were, well… less than enthusiastically received. But in 2017, Disney announced plans to acquire rival studio Fox, regaining the rights to classic Marvel characters like the X-Men and the Fantastic Four. Soon after the deal was finalized in 2019, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige officially teased a new Fantastic Four movie at San Diego Comic-Con that year, formally bringing Reed, Sue, Ben, and Johnny into the broader MCU.

Who’s in the cast?

After months of speculation, Marvel finally revealed the new Fantastic Four cast on Valentine’s Day 2024. The Last of Us and Mandalorian star Pedro Pascal was confirmed to play Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, while The Crown’s  Vanessa Kirby was announced as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman. Meanwhile, Stranger Things breakout Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm/The Human Torch, and The Bear Emmy winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach is starring as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Marvel also shared an illustrated first look at the film’s cast, a 1960s-inspired drawing showcasing the group’s iconic blue outfits from the comics.

After his casting was announced, Quinn told Entertainment Weekly that he was particularly excited about the opportunity to work with Pascal, Kirby, and Moss-Bachrach, adding that he and his costars “want to get this right.”

"Working with Vanessa, Pedro, Ebon — they're really consummate pros and brilliant in everything they're in," Quinn said. "So I'm really looking forward to establishing this familial dynamic with them and with Matt Shakman's guidance."

Since then, Marvel has also revealed that John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne have all joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Fingers crossed that one of them might be playing H.E.R.B.I.E., the Fantastic Four’s longtime robot companion from the comics.

Related: Meet the new Fantastic Four: Pedro Pascal leads next Marvel movie

Who’s the villain?

Marvel has mostly kept mum about the film’s plot, but the studio has revealed that Game of Thrones alum Ralph Ineson will be playing Galactus, the legendary planet-eating villain from the comics. The towering, purple-helmet-wearing baddie is one of the Fantastic Four’s most notorious foes, and he briefly appeared in 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer. (After his casting was announced, Ineson confirmed the news on social media, writing, “World devouring cosmic villain is it? I’ll see what I can do.”)

Galactus is often accompanied by his interstellar herald, the Silver Surfer, and Marvel has confirmed that Ozark star Julia Garner will play the role in the new film. Instead of playing Norrin Radd, the original Silver Surfer, Garner is set to star as Shalla-Bal, a female version of the Surfer from the original comics.

Related: Kevin Feige teases Fantastic Four as a 'big pillar' of the MCU's future

Who’s directing?

Originally, Jon Watts was set to helm the new Fantastic Four after directing all three of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man movies. But after he left the project in April 2022, Marvel tapped WandaVision director Matt Shakman to step in. Shakman previously directed the 2014 thriller Cut Bank, but he’s best known for his prolific work as a television director, helming episodes of Succession, The Boys, Game of Thrones, Fargo, Mad Men, New Girl, House, and It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia.

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How will this connect to the rest of the MCU?

Good question! Disney has wanted to bring the Fantastic Four into the Marvel Cinematic Universe for a long, long time. When the Fox deal was announced way back in 2017, a press release touted how the deal “provides Disney with the opportunity to reunite the X-Men, Fantastic Four, and Deadpool with the Marvel family under one roof and create richer, more complex worlds of interrelated characters and stories."

Since then, a version of Reed Richards has already popped up in the MCU. John Krasinski appeared as an alternate-universe version of Reed in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, a winking nod to how the former Office star was a popular fan choice to play the role. But Krasinski’s cameo was just a one-off, and when the new Fantastic Four hits theaters in 2025, it’ll mark the team’s official induction into the MCU.

It remains to be seen how the new Fantastic Four will connect to other Marvel projects — and whether we’ll see Reed, Sue, Ben, or Johnny team up with established Marvel heroes like the Avengers. (Rumors are already swirling that the movie will be set in the 1960s.)  But we do know that Marvel already has big plans for the Fantastic Four: In 2023, Feige told Entertainment Weekly that he wants the team to be a “big pillar of the MCU going forward, just the way they’ve been in the comics for 50 or 60 years.”

"Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics," Feige said in 2023. "There's certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that's something that is really exciting for us."

Related: Inside Joseph Quinn's breakthrough year: Gladiator II, Fantastic Four, and more

When does it come out?

Fantastic Four is expected to begin filming in summer 2024, with plans to hit theaters July 24, 2025.

Read the original article on Entertainment Weekly.