While “Deadpool 3” is gearing up to be Marvel’s first big attempt at tackling mutants, their upcoming “Fantastic Four” reboot is also going to be a real challenge as it’ll be the first proper hard reboot of the Fox era. The studio is said to be zeroing in on casting the four leading roles, and the latest update on the film is a bit of a switch-up on who is writing the script.
Marvel Studios has hired screenwriter Josh Friedman to help on the “Fantastic Four” script, according to The Hollywood Reporter. Friedman’s deep sci-fi background seems like an excellent pairing on paper for the MCU with credits such as James Cameron’s “Avatar: The Way of Water,” Steven Spielberg’s remake of the “War of The Worlds” that starred Tom Cruise, Apple’s acclaimed series “Foundation,” “Terminator: Dark Fate,” a television adaptation of “Snowpiercer,” and most recently worked on “Kingdom of The Planet of The Apes” for Disney/20th Century Studios.
Writers Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer had been previously announced back in September and had been working on the script before Friedman’s addition. It’s unclear how major these rewrites will be, but with filming expected to begin in 2024, they have plenty of time to get the script in ship shape and casting all locked up before cameras start to roll. Outside of regular online rumors, the studio hasn’t exactly given an official synopsis or who the film’s main threat will be. “Fantastic Four” have one of the more extensive rogues galleries and could prove interesting to see which villains Marvel ultimately selects for their first outing.
Matt Shakman, who previously worked with Marvel on the Disney+ series “WandaVision” is set to direct after exiting Paramount’s troubled “Star Trek 4.” We’ll keep our fingers crossed that the studio will make the cast announcement between now and a potential appearance at San Diego Comic-Con this July. Of course, John Krasinski cameoed as Reed Richards in “Doctor Strange In The Multiverse of Madness,” but that took place in another universe, within the greater Multiverse, and there have been signs that Marvel is indeed looking to recast the role for the 616 incarnations.
“Fantastic Four” currently has an official release date of February 14, 2025, and it’ll be curious to see if they do end up leaning into the romantic side of the source material, given that Reed’s rival Namor is now officially in the MCU thanks to “Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.”