‘The Fantastic Four’ story rumors tease it could be a secret sequel to the most infamous MCU movie of them all

Deadpool & Wolverine fever has well and truly swept through the Marvel fandom at this point, but let’s not forget that The Fantastic Four is coming next summer to give the Ryan Reynolds threequel a run for its money in terms of insanely anticipated MCU blockbusters. Although it sounds like Marvel is daring fans to turn against it, if these latest plot rumors turn out to be true.

At this early stage, we know so little about WandaVision director Matt Shakman’s reimagining of Marvel’s First Family, but everything we’ve seen and learned about it so far has gone straight in the “pros” column. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Natasha Lyonne, and many more in the cast… A possible 1960s period setting… the one and only H.E.R.B.I.E.! With so many positives on its side, what could go wrong?

Maybe if The Fantastic Four ends up being a spiritual sequel to The Marvels, the MCU’s least-popular movie of all time.

The Fantastic Four rumored to be either a secret Guardians 4… or The Marvels 2

As per insider Daniel RPK, The Fantastic Four will be mostly set in space and can be described as a “cosmic” MCU movie. While this is news to us, it does add up with what little we know so far. The inclusion of Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson’s Galactus, for starters, not to mention the Apollo astronaut vibes given off by the promo artwork.

In many ways, making TFF a cosmic film is a smart move, as it instantly differentiates it from prior Fantastic Four offerings. With the team’s origins taking them into space anyway — they get their powers from a cosmic storm in most versions — it only makes sense to simply keep them there. Plus, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 just proved how audiences are still hungry for bold sci-fi outings.

On the other hand, The Marvels also proves that sometimes outer-space MCU adventures can leave audiences cold, so this could turn out to be a very risky decision indeed. Plus, a big part of the foursome’s storyline is how they have to deal with their newfound fame upon becoming superheroes, which is something a movie set in space won’t be able to explore. And a whole film set in 1960s era New York could be oodles of fun!

The one really could go either way, then, but with how long Marvel’s been working on this one — a Fantastic Four reboot was announced in 2019 — let’s hope Kevin Feige and co. know exactly what they’re doing and have ironed out all the kinks. Fingers crossed The Fantastic Four ends up emulating the right cosmic Marvel movie that came out in 2023.