Since the Disney-Fox merger became final in 2019, Marvel fans have been clamoring for the Fox-owned characters to make their way into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. After the group’s disastrous reboot in 2015, it’s safe to say fans couldn’t want anything more than for Kevin Feige to get his hands on Fantastic Four and bring them to the MCU.
We got a taste of this in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness as John Krasinski brought Mr. Fantastic to life. But, fans are desperate for the team to get another proper film. Back during the announcement of Phase 4 in July 2019, Feige revealed that there was a new Fantastic Four film in development. As of writing this, the film is slated for release on Feb. 14, 2025, though between the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes, it’s expected the film will be delayed.
Since the announcement of Fantastic Four, fans have been dream-casting the iconic Marvel team and its villainous lineup. However, many Marvel fanatics have been reporting on rumors regarding Fantastic Four, including The Legend of Zorro star himself Antonio Banderas possibly joining the team in a sinister way.
Antonio Banderas’ MCU debut?
Baneras is rumored to be playing the big bad Galactus in the upcoming Fantastic Four. Considering Banderas just graced the screen a few years ago as Uncharted‘s villain, he would be no stranger to turning to the dark side. Plus, Banderas is one of the few actors in Hollywood not sucked into the MCU as of yet, so it would be a great role to get him into entertainment conglomerate.
For those unfamiliar with the character, Galactus is a cosmic supergiant who has to consume planets to continue to live. He does technically appear in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, though not in any form you would recognize. Instead, he appears almost like an evil hurricane, descending onto the Earth. Otherwise, Fantastic Four would mark the first film appearance of the classic villain.
Molding for what?
Multiple actors are being tied to Fantastic Four as of late, but very few have any genuine evidence to support it. Jack Quaid has even gone on record to dispute the rumor he’ll be playing Johnny Storm. However, eagle-eyed fans have been sharing a tweet by Banderas from May that implies he’s working on a big upcoming project, implying the project is in fact Fantastic Four.
In the video, makeup artists apply putty to Banderas to create an accurate mold of his face. He captioned the video saying they were “building an exact copy of my face for a movie” though the movie goes unnamed. While this process can be used to create a number of costume pieces, Marvel fans think this mold is being used to create a version of Galactus’ helmet for Banderas to wear.
The Puss in Boots actor has yet to publicly comment on the rumors, and the project that he got the mold for has not been disclosed at this time. A variety of other crazy projects are in progress in Hollywood right now, so these mold-related Galactus rumors remain, for the time being, as rumors. Plus, with the SAG-AFTRA strike still in full swing, it’s highly unlikely any casting news will be released in the near future regarding Fantastic Four.