Marvel Studios’ upcoming Fantastic Four reboot is reportedly slated to enter production next January.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s upcoming Fantastic Four reboot film is expected to enter production next January.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Marvel Studios is currently planning to shoot Fantastic Four in London starting in January 2024. Earlier this year, director Matt Shakman confirmed that Marvel’s First Family’s MCU reboot was eyeing an early-2024 production start. However, THR‘s new report narrows that window down to January specifically.
THR‘s updated information regarding Fantastic Four comes via a larger report that is primarily about Marvel Studios’ Blade, another upcoming MCU reboot of a property previously adapted by a different studio. The outlet explains that pre-production on Blade has been temporarily shut down, with the Mahershala Ali-led comic book film becoming the first Marvel Studios project affected by the ongoing Writers Guild of America (WGA) strike that began on May 2.
On that note, THR adds that Fantastic Four‘s January 2024 start window is subject to change if the strike lasts longer than six months. However, insiders believe that this is highly unlikely. (Notably, the last WGA strike lasted three months, beginning on Nov. 5, 2007 and ending on Feb. 12, 2008.)
Fellow MCU film Captain America: New World Order is currently filming in Atlanta, as is Marvel Studios’ upcoming Disney+ series Agatha: Coven of Chaos. Wonder Man — another MCU-set Disney+ series — is similarly shooting in Los Angeles at the moment. Meanwhile, the upcoming MCU film Deadpool 3 is slated to start production in London later this month. Finally, THR reports that, for now, Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts film is still expected to begin production in Atlanta next month as planned.
That being said, even if the strike is relatively short, there is still likely to be an impact on Marvel’s slate, with upcoming projects having their production starts delayed among the possibilities. “There’s a billion dollars net in production costs that are exposed because of the strike,” an anonymous Marvel insider told THR. “That’s certainly a concern.” Members of the WGA West and WGA East are currently striking for better pay after contract negotiations with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP) broke down.
The Fantastic Four Join the MCU in 2025
As for Fantastic Four, Marvel’s First Family has already been adapted on the big screen on a number of occasions. Directed by Tim Story, 20th Century Fox’s Fantastic Four released in theaters in 2005. Story returned to helm a sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which released in 2007. Josh Trank later directed a Fantastic Four reboot, which Fox released in 2015. Marvel Studios ultimately secured the screen rights to the Fantastic Four in 2019, when parent The Walt Disney Company acquired 21st Century Fox.
Marvel Studios announced its own Fantastic Four film in December 2020, with MCU Spider-Man trilogy director Jon Watts attached to helm the project. Watts eventually stepped down, with Shakman (who previously directed Marvel Studios’ Disney+ series WandaVision) being tapped as his replacement. Following a previous delay, the film is currently scheduled to release in theaters on Feb. 14, 2025 as part of Phase Six of the MCU.
As THR notes, there is a lot of buzz regarding who will play the MCU’s Fantastic Four. After all, while John Krasinski played an alternate-reality version of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic in the 2022 Marvel Studios film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, he is not expected to reprise the role in Fantastic Four. Instead, reports indicate that Star Wars alum Adam Driver is in advanced talks to play Reed Richards in the film. Meanwhile, Margot Robbie is said to have been offered the role of Sue Storm/Invisible Woman. Additional rumors suggest that Marvel is eyeing Antonio Banderas to play Fantastic Four‘s main antagonist, Galactus.
