The arrival of Fantastic Four has already been teased in the MCU. Marvel’s first family was introduced to us in the 1961 Fantastic Four No. 1 by the late comic book legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. In the very first issue, we were introduced to the family of four- Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm. They are sent on a mission to space in an experimental rocket which then gets bombarded with cosmic radiation which ends up giving them their powers.
Reed gets the ability to stretch himself to any shape while being super smart too. His fiancee (and later his wife) Sue Storm, can turn invisible and also create force fields. Johnny can control fire and fly around while Ben becomes a rock monster. In July 2019, Kevin Feige announced that a Fantastic Four, set in the MCU, is under development. While no further update regarding the project was released anywhere fans have been paying attention to every possible detail or hint regarding them in every project since the announcement. Let’s take a look at some of these possible hints teasing the arrival of Fantastic Four in the MCU.
1-2-3-?
There’s a massive easter egg in the 2019 Spider-Man: Far from Home movie regarding the Fantastic Four. Just before the credits, Spider-Man lands right in front of the old Avengers Tower, which is under renovation as the original headquarters had to be moved upstate. If you pay close attention, a sign in front of the building reads, “We Can’t Wait to Show You What Comes Next,” along with the numbers “1-2-3-?”. Either this could be a nod to the arrival of Phase 4 or this could very easily be a nod to the family of four. The secondary makes sense considering the director of Far from Home, Jon Watts, will be directing the new Fantastic Four project.
Baxter Building
It was made clear to us in Spider-Man: Homecoming that Tony Stark had sold the Avengers Tower but it was not made aware as to who ended up buying it. The previous hint was clearly placed in front of this very location. Since the Spider-Man trilogy director is also helming the Fantastic Four, it is quite clear that maybe Reed Richards and co. bought the tower. Hence the structure could now end up being the Baxter Building.
Space mission in Wandavision
Just after returning to the S.W.O.R.D., Monica Rambeau asks Director Hayward about the astronaut training program. Hayward responds by mentioning that half the trainees were lost in the Blip and the remaining half have lost their nerve. This is an essential piece of information since the Fantastic Four got their powers during a manned space flight. Another hint was the presence of Cosmic Microwave Background radiation according to Darcy Lewis after the creation of the universe. And finally, on being thought upon the requirement of a vehicle that can withstand the radiation, Monica mentions knowing an Aerospace Engineer who might be up for the task. This could be a direct reference to Reed Richards.
Watcher
The Watchers have a major connection with the Fantastic Four in the comic books. The main idea for the What If…? show was to introduce us to the perspective of The Watcher. It’s no wonder that this character is being dug out and explored considering it might have a major link with the upcoming Fantastic Four movie. Maybe, The Watcher will introduce us to the beloved superhero family.
Previous adaptations
Before we dive into the hints, let’s glance over previous attempts at making an adaptation for the screen for the Fantastic Four. The movie adaptation of this Comic Book family has had a troubled past. The first movie adaptation began in 1992 when Bernd Eichinger of Constantin Film hired Roger Corman to produce a low-budget film in order to keep the rights for the characters. The film did not get a release as it was considered to be a desperate attempt to keep the rights.
20th Century Fox was given a go-ahead for making a big-budget adaptation for the movie. This led to the 2005 movie Fantastic Four followed by the 2007 sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Both the movies had the same cast, with fan-favorite Chris Evan, playing the Human Torch before he established himself in MCU with the role of Captain America. While both these movies are considered okay, they didn’t do well at the box office.
This was followed by a complete reboot in 2015 with Fantastic Four, with Josh Trank as the director. This was a complete disappointment as an adaptation and any plans for sequels were shut down. The problems were blamed on various issues faced by the director in the post-production. Now after all these failures, we’re finally getting the Fantastic Four movie that we deserve. Hopefully, John Krasinski and Emily Blunt will be cast as Reed and Sue respectively. And we’ll probably get this film by the end of 2023 as director Jon Watts will straight away move on to direct the film after he’s done with No Way Home‘s release.
Are you excited about the arrival of Fantastic Four in the MCU? Let us know.
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