“The Fantastic Four will return”. That’s the kind of statement Marvel fans are used to seeing at the end of each MCU film. Ahead of The Fantastic Four: First Steps next summer, that has become official at San Diego Comic during the Marvel Studios panel Saturday night. It’s been revealed that The Fantastic Four composed of Pedro Pascal’s Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm and Ebon Moss Bachrach will be appearing in the next two Avengers films.
This shouldn’t come as much of a surprise as, in the absence of characters like Iron Man and Black Widow, The Fantastic Four are arguably the biggest heroes not to join the MCU thus far. They are known as “Marvel’s First Family” after all. Avengers 5, previously known as Kang Dynasty, now called Avengers: Doomsday, had its release date shifted quite a bit before landing on its current May 1, 2026 slot. Avengers 6 on the other hand is still titled Secret Wars and has a release date of May 7, 2027. Joe and Anthony Russo have been confirmed to return as directors for both movies, with Robert Downey Jr. also returning to the MCU, this time as Victor Von Doom. The directing duo previously helmed Captain America: The Winter Soldier and Civil War alongside Avengers: Infinity War and Endgame.
The History of ‘The Fantastic Four’ On The Big Screen
The Fantastic Four have been on the big screen three times over the last few decades. The most well known were the Tim Story directed films of the 2000s, Fantastic 4 and Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer. While not critical successes by any means, these two films came at a time when films like Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man Trilogy and Fox’s X-Men adventures were lighting up the box office. They did financially benefit from the rising quality of the superhero genre and have grown a cult following over the years. That same can’t be said of 2015’s Fant4stic, which was plagued with behind-the-scenes drama that affected both its box office and its review scores. It’s still one of the worst reviewed comic book films of our modern era. However, when Disney bought 20th Century Fox in 2019, new hope-found hope was given that their introduction into the MCU would save the Fantastic Four brand. 2024 has been a great year for fans of the Marvel team as first-look art and cast photos have filled our hearts with nostalgic joy. The film even got the brand-new subtitle First Steps at SDCC and will begin filming this coming Tuesday, July 30th.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will release on July 25, 2025 and will be directed by Matt Shakman who helmed WandaVison. While we wait for this Marvel team to join the MCU, The latest film Deadpool & Wolverine is currently tearing up the box office in its opening weekend.
via Collider