Over a year after gaining the screen rights to the Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios has provided a significant update on the superhero team's introduction to the MCU. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige announced the company is developing a Fantastic Four film that will be helmed by Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts.
Marvel Studios procured the screen rights to the Fantastic Four from Fox after Disney's acquisition of 21 Century Fox's entertainment assets in 2019. During Marvel Studios' presentation at San Diego Comic-Con that year, Feige confirmed the company was planning to introduce the Fantastic Four to the MCU, but no further information regarding how or in what form was divulged at the time.
During Disney's Investor Day presentation this week, Feige finally announced the Fantastic Four will be introduced to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a featured film. "Finally, I'm happy to announce a film about one of the truly iconic Marvel families. In fact, Marvel's First Family: Fantastic Four," Feige declared. "We're working on a feature now, and it will be directed by the director of our recent Spider-Man films, Jon Watts." Fans were also given a glimpse at Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four logo in a brief video clip included with Feige's announcement.
After joining the MCU family as the director of Homecoming, Watts returned to helm the sequel Far From Home and is currently hard at work on the third installment of Tom Holland's Spider-Man film series. During the Investor Day presentation, Feige confirmed the untitled third Spider-Man film will be connected to the events of Doctor Strange Strange in the Multiverse and the Disney+ series WandaVision. Joining Holland in the next Spider-Man film will be Benedict Cumberbatch as Stephen Strange, which may explain the inclusion of multiple characters from separate Spider-Man franchises, including Alfred Molina as Doctor Octopus.
Fans may have a better understanding of what Marvel Studios has planned for the multiverse when WandaVision premieres in January 2021. The series, which seemingly revolves around Elizabeth Olsen's Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany's The Vision living in an alternate world created by outside forces, officially marks the beginning of the MCU's Phase 4 era.
Disney's acquisition of 20th Century Fox raised concerns regarding the company's increasing footprint in the entertainment industry. However, the prospect of seeing the Fantastic Four return the silver screen under the Marvel Studios banner was exciting to fans, especially considering 20th Century Fox's previous efforts to adapt the characters for a feature film were maligned by moviegoers.
Fantastic Four is in development.
Source: Marvel Studios