It’s an open secret that the fate of Marvel‘s future rests on the muscular mutant shoulders of both the Fantastic Four and the X-Men. So it’s worth noting that we’ve just received an intriguing update on both fronts, which will either be cause for celebration or anxiety, depending on which side you fall on. For starters, The Fantastic Four is going to be borrowing a key creative mind from Thor: Ragnarok. But don’t worry, Love and Thunder haters, it isn’t Taika Waititi…
The Fantastic Four will have an unexpected connection to Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow, and Thunderbolts
The Fantastic Four — don’t forget the The — has already laid out its fabulous central foursome, but while we await to find out who’s playing Doctor Doom, Galactus, and Silver Surfer, we’ve just discovered that an MCU veteran will be unexpectedly crossing over for Marvel’s First Family’s big debut. As per THR, screenwriter Eric Pearson has been quietly brought aboard the project in recent weeks to beef up the script. Pearson has become one of the studio’s most reliable go-to scribes after working on Thor: Ragnarok, Black Widow, and the upcoming Thunderbolts (which TFF just swapped places with on the 2025 slate). Fingers crossed this one is more of a Ragnarok than a Black Widow, though.
X-Men ’97 is confirmed not to be set in the MCU, and honestly thank god
X-Men ’97 showrunner Beau DeMayo has seemingly unequivocally confirmed that the incoming animation is not set within the continuity of the MCU. On the one hand, this doesn’t sound like much of a revelation at all —I mean, of course it’s not. It’s a continuation of X-Men: The Animated Series, we’ve known that all along. And yet, if you think about it, the implications of this are huge. For the first time since 2008’s Iron Man, X-Men ’97 may just be the first Marvel Studios production not to have any ties to the MCU. Could this mark a huge creative change right at the time when folks are getting bored of the whole cinematic universe thing? We’ll have to see.
Henry Cavill Marvel rumors prove to be more unkillable than his Superman
I’m sorry, DC fans, is it still too soon? Yes, Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel may be dead and buried (multiple times over, in fact), but the constant rumors that our former Geralt of Rivia is going to hop over to the MCU are more alive than ever. The latest word on the street? That Cavill has secretly signed up for a mysterious role with Marvel Studios. Whether that’s Cyclops or Captain Britain, people are endlessly theorizing, although we can seemingly at least say it’s definitely not Doctor Doom. Although whether Marvel wants to rest a new franchise in Cavill’s hands, when the much-loved actor actually doesn’t translate to box office overflow, is a whole other question.