When it comes too Marvel’s first family of superheroes, we all know that third time needs to be the charm. Ever since the Fantastic Four reverted back to Marvel Studios to be produced under Kevin Feige, fans have built up expectations as to how they are going to be re-introduced to the new superhero layout. And it seems that Marvel is worried too: Josh Friedman (Avatar: The Way of Water) has been selected to do re-writes on the script of the upcoming blockbuster.

Friedman has had a prolific career as a writer and story developer. As well as having written the story for James Cameron’s 2022 blockbuster, the screenwriter also developed TV series Snowpiercer, Foundation, and Emerald City. He also wrote the story for Terminator: Dark Fate and Steven Spielberg’s War of the Worlds. His background as a science fiction writer certainly will make a difference when approaching the family of superheroes, especially when it comes to the leader and scientist Dr. Reed Richards (played by John Krasinski in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness).

Originally, the screenplay for the new Fantastic Four had been co-written by Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer, who previously had worked on The Last of the Great Romantics and Bert and Arnie’s Guide to Friendship. We’ll still need to know at what capacity Friedman has been hired to do re-writes: A complete re-write could impact the movie’s expected 2025 release date, but Friedman could have been hired as a “script doctor” as well, meaning that he would tweak and improve the story written by the duo.

Is Marvel Going Back to the Drawing Board?

Marvel Studios seems to be making a point of working on their upcoming scripts. Just one day ago, it was announced that another upcoming title, Thunderbolts, is also getting re-written by Netflix’s Beef creator Lee Sung Jin. Those changes could be an indication that mega-producer Kevin Feige is taking another look at what’s to come in Phase Five and trying to improve it, since the Marvel titles have not been getting the same reception that the ones in previous phases. For Fantastic Four, Matt Shakman (WandaVision) is still attached to direct.

True to the studio’s history, Marvel is keeping mum about details from Fantastic Four. So far, we don’t know if Krasinski will reprise his role of Reed Richards, and the actor suggested that this is unlikely. We also don’t know how the family of superheroes will be factored into the MCU, since Feige himself confirmed the movie won’t be an origin story. At the same time, the producer suggested that the group will be introduced in a way that makes them feel indispensable for future phases.

Fantastic Four is still slated to begin filming in early 2024.

via Collider