Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige provided new details on the upcoming Fantastic Four film confirming it will be a period film and hinting it takes place in a separate universe.
THE FANTASTIC FOUR. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
In an interview on The Official Marvel Podcast, Feige expressed that Fantastic Four is the project he’s most excited about that Marvel is working on. He went on to reveal that the film would be a period piece.
Feige said, “It is a period [film] and there was another piece of art we released with Johnny Storm flying in the air, making a 4 symbol, and there was a cityscape in the corner of that image. And there were a lot of smart people who noticed that that cityscape did not look like the New York that we know or the New York that existed in the ’60s in our world. And those are smart observations I’ll say.”
Poster for Fantastic Four (2025), Marvel Studios
Earlier in the podcast Feige shared that the film would go into production at the end of July. Specifically, he noted it would begin filming on July 29th, the Monday after San Diego Comic-Con.
Feige said, “I am incredibly excited for what we are doing with the Fantastic Four right now. And what Matt Shakman, our director who did WandaVision for us is working on. He’s already moved to London. And we start filming at the end of July. Funny story, we start shooting the Monday after Comic-Con. The day after Comic-Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four.”
And I’m extremely excited by it because I think those characters are mainstays, are legendary pillars of the Marvel Universe that we’ve never got to play with or explore in any significant way apart from Multiverse of Madness and a few fun teases before in the way that we are doing in that film. So I’m extremely excited for that,” he added.
HOLLYWOOD, CALIFORNIA – APRIL 27: Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige (R) and guests attend the Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 World Premiere at the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, California on April 27, 2023. (Photo by Rich Polk/Getty Images for Disney)
The Fantastic Four film will feature Pedro Pascal as Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as the Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm aka the Human Torch.
While Marvel has not revealed much about the film’s synopsis, Quinn noted in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that the film would be “very different” compared “to other Marvel films.”
He said, “I knew that they’d been talking about making the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Universe for a while. I had a talk with [director] Matt [Shakman], and it was very clear with the kind of people who they were attaching to it what they were trying to do with it. There are aspects of it that are very much a singular thing and its own thing.”
He added, “Working with Vanessa, Pedro, Evan — they’re really consummate pros and brilliant in everything they’re in. So I’m really looking forward to establishing this familial dynamic with them and with Matt Shakman’s guidance.”
STRANGER THINGS. Joseph Quinn as Eddie Munson in STRANGER THINGS. Cr. Courtesy of Netflix © 2022
Quinn went on to claim the film is different from other Marvel films, “I think that with the story of the Fantastic Four, it feels like we want to get this right. There are aspects of it that are very different to other Marvel films. That felt very compelling to me. And again, going back to who’s involved, Matt, of course, the director, I think is brilliant, and the cast, and I’ve read it and the script is brilliant. It’s really brilliant. I’m delighted to have this opportunity.”
He concluded, “Superhero movies are movies about people. And if we’re invested in the people and the characters and the peril and the spectacle, then that’s why people go to the theaters to watch films. We’re not just in a penny; we’re in for a pound with this one. We’re going to go for it.”
A panel from Silver Surfer #1 (1968), Marvel Comics
Along with the Fantastic Four, the film will also reportedly feature a gender-swapped version of the Silver Surfer. Deadline’s Justin Kroll reported that Ozark actress Julia Garner would play this version of the Silver Surfer that is named Shalla-Bal.
If you are unfamiliar with Shalla-Bal, the character first appeared in Silver Surfer #1 back in 1968 and she was Norrin Radd’s first love. Norrin Radd left her on the planet Zenna-La after he made a bargain with Galactus to spare the planet. He also tasked Shalla-Bal with keeping the spirit of the planet’s ancestors alive and not allowing them to be overwhelmed by complacency due to limitless pleasure.
The character did become a version of the Silver Surfer in Marvel Comics’ Earth X series back in 1999 and 2000. In the final issue of the series it’s implied that Galactus imbued not only Norrin Radd with the Power Cosmic, but Shalla-Bal as well.
A panel from Earth X #13 (2000), Marvel Comics
What do you make of Feige’s confirmation that the Fantastic Four is a period piece and will seemingly take place in a separate universe?
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