Kevin Feige is betting it all on The Fantastic Four. Their involvement in the MCU has been a long time coming, ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox back in 2019. It took five years, but on Valentine’s Day we finally learned what the MCU’s version of the team looks like: Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Vanessa Kirby, and Pedro Pascal will star in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a retro-futurist take on the heroes directed by Matt Shakman.
Feige has recently announced an update on the movie’s production that is not only a sign the movie will avoid the recent MCU delay curse, but will also play a bigger role in the MCU than we first thought.
According to Deadline, Feige mentioned his excitement about the Fantastic Four making their MCU debut after long last (no, the cameos in Deadpool 3 and Doctor Strange 2 don’t count). “Finally, [we’re] bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU,” he said. “They wrap next week, the movie comes out next summer, and then all those characters go right into the next Avengers movies, so I’m very excited for the future of the Fantastic Four.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps started production this summer, just after the full title was announced at San Diego Comic-Con, so it’s exciting to hear that filming is wrapping without major incident. But the most exciting reveal is that these characters will appear in the next Avengers movies, Avengers: Secret Wars and Avengers: Doomsday.
This is especially interesting because a promotional illustration from April shows a skyline completely different than the one fans are familiar with, meaning this movie isn’t just set in the past, it’s most likely set in another universe altogether. Therefore, the Fantastic Four appearing in Avengers: Secret Wars establishes a threat that’s bigger than just saving the world or even the universe — it’s something involving literally every universe and variant.
That means that not only will the Fantastic Four be in Secret Wars, but it’s likely Secret Wars will be in The Fantastic Four. This movie being set in another universe makes it the perfect project to lay the groundwork for a multi-universal threat. We know that Galactus will be a major villain, and a Celestial like him could easily be in on something much bigger.
The team will also appear in Avengers: Doomsday, the Avengers movie that will bring Robert Downey, Jr. back to play Doctor Doom himself. It’s a lofty plan for a team that only has one movie to introduce themselves, especially a movie that feels disconnected from everyone else, but it might be the fresh start that the MCU could use in its new era.
