Sorry, ‘X-Men’ fans. Yes, Marvel Studios gained control of the Fox properties in March when the Disney buyout became finalized. But at San Diego Comic-Con, the merry mutants were not revealed to be part of Kevin Feige’s Phase 4 plans. However, their Fox brethren, the “Fantastic Four” franchise, was part of the unveiling (via Variety), as it was revealed that a new film is currently in development.
Sadly, there doesn’t seem to be many details, but it appears that Marvel Studios is interested in bringing the Fantastic Four into the MCU before the X-Men. Honestly, if you think about it, the addition of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm is a far easier task, at this point of time. With the reveal that a lot of Phase 4 will deal with cosmic and multiversal stories (‘Eternals,’ ‘Loki,’ ‘Doctor Strange 2,’ etc…), the FF can be introduced in any number of ways.
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In addition to this being an interesting addition to the MCU, “Fantastic Four” is probably a franchise that deserves to be part of Marvel Studios first, anyway. Created in 1961 by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee, “Fantastic Four” is the first team of heroes in the Marvel Universe. Much like Feige said that Spider-Man is a character that needs to be in the MCU, so do the Fantastic Four, who are often referred to as Marvel’s First Family.
Obviously, this won’t be the first time that “Fantastic Four” gets adapted for the big screen. Fox tried 3 times before to bring the heroes to life. The first two were moderate successes but never really took off like ‘X-Men’ or “Spider-Man.” So, in 2015, the studio rebooted the franchise with the help of Josh Trank. Let’s just sum that up by saying the franchise was quickly abandoned after that film.
But now, Marvel Studios gets a crack at it. And clearly, Feige and Co. have a way of making anything work right now, so why not give “Fantastic Four” one more try? So, Marvel’s first family was last, but not least. However, note, Feige also teased “Captain Marvel 2,” “Black Panther 2,” “Guardians Of The Galaxy Volume 3,” the “X-Men” (“Mutants,” he said), when he introduced Mahershala Ali as “Blade“ and mentioned the “Fantastic Four” as well. D23 could be packed with more announcements. See below.
There’s just one more thing… #SDCC pic.twitter.com/0Q3F4AZJLg
— Dustin Sandoval (@DustinMSandoval) July 21, 2019
Kevin Feige on bringing back #Marvel’s first family the Fantastic Four #SDCC https://t.co/KN7sAI9ED1 pic.twitter.com/IaQ6zsipdK
— Variety (@Variety) July 21, 2019
