Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Has Reportedly Found a Villain, But Who Will Star In the Reboot?
Rebooting the Fantastic Four is one of Marvel’s main objectives as it heads into Phase 4 of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel president Kevin Feige confirmed that the franchise is coming to the MCU last summer, though details have since been scant. Although Marvel is keeping a tight lid on the project, sources claim that the studio has found a villain. Here’s a rundown on everything we know about Marvel’s Fantastic Four.
Marvel has big plans for the ‘Fantastic Four’
In past years, Fox released three movies related to the Fantastic Four. All three films were met with mixed reviews and disappointing box office totals, which is one reason why fans are thrilled about Marvel rebooting the First Family.
Disney, the parent company of Marvel, bought out Fox last year in a deal that sent some major franchises to the studio. This includes X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four. Marvel is expected to keep Deadpool as is and reboot X-Men and Fantastic Four.
While we cannot wait to see what Marvel does with the Fantastic Four, the film will likely hit theaters after 2022, putting it squarely in Phase 5 of the MCU. Luckily, this gives the studio plenty of time to come up with a great story for the characters, though it sounds like they are already hard at work developing the plot.
Filming is probably another year or so away, yet sources claim that Marvel has come up with a villain to challenge Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and Thing.
Who is going to be the villain?
According to We Got This Covered, the main villain in Fantastic Four will be Mole Man. Mole Man is not on the same level as Galactus or Doctor Doom, but he was the first villain the team faced in the comics.
For a quick refresher, Mole Man, a.k.a. Dr. Harvey Elder, is the leader of a group of subterranean creatures known as Moloids. These creatures are hybrids between moles and humans and create a lot of problems for the surface dwellers.
In the 2015 movie, Fantastic Four, Tim Blake Nelson played the character in what proved to be a loose interpretation of the original villain.
We have no idea how Marvel is going to adapt the character in the MCU, but it would be neat to see him face off with the superheroes in the reboot.
Who is starring in reboot?
With filming still a few years out, casting for Marvel’s Fantastic Four has not begun. Inside sources, however, claim that the studio would love to get John Krasinski and his wife, Emily Blunt, to play Mister Fantastic and Invisible Woman.
Krasinski and Blunt teamed up for the first time in the successful horror film, A Quiet Place, which proves that they have some pretty amazing chemistry together. The two have not commented on joining the MCU, but it sounds like they would be the perfect fit.
Apart from the cast, sources say that Marvel is looking to tweak the original story a bit. The studio is reportedly thinking about having the team be a family of explorers who travel to strange worlds and other dimensions.
At some point, the family comes in contact with the Negative Zone, which might actually be a part of the Quantum Realm that was introduced in Paul Rudd’s Ant-Man movies. While in the Negative Zone, the family receives their various powers and become the Fantastic Four.
When will Marvel introduce the ‘Fantastic Four’?
In the MCU, new franchises are usually introduced in a different film before they get their own movie. If that trend continues, there has been a lot of talk about Marvel introducing the Fantastic Four in Ant-Man 3.
This would make sense if Marvel changes the story to a family of explorers who are caught in the Quantum Realm. Unfortunately, the studio has not commented on its plans for Ant-Man 3, so we’ll have to wait and see what unfolds.
Ant-Man 3 is not expected to come out in theaters until after 2022, which means casting and filming could start as early as next year.
Stay tuned for more Fantastic Four news as it becomes available.
