Fantastic Four: 10 Theories For How They Can Join The MCU
Marvel's First Family is coming to the MCU, but how can Marvel Studios make it happen?
The last time the Fantastic Four were seen on screen was 2015 in Josh Trank's disastrous reboot of the franchise. Had Tim Miller directed Deadpool 2, The Thing and the Human Torch would have shown up to lend the Merc with the Mouth a helping hand, but thanks to the Disney/Fox merger, Marvel First Family are now heading to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
There's been no word on when exactly they'll first appear, but it's expected to be sooner rather than later, especially after Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige name-dropped the heroes at last year's San Diego Comic-Con (whereas the X-Men were only referenced as "mutants").
The future is definitely looking brighter for the Fantastic Four now they've returned "home," but the big question on the minds of many fans is how the team can be brought into the MCU. In the comic books, they were introduced before The Avengers and Spider-Man, but they're now entering a world which has already been established, and that makes it hard to predict where exactly they'll fit in.
Here, though, you'll find ten compelling theories and explanations for how the Fantastic Four can join this shared world and finally get the big screen treatment they deserve...
10. Flashback To The 1960s
This would be a divisive move on Marvel Studios' part, but the Fantastic Four movie could very easily take place in the 1960s. It actually wouldn't be the first time studio bosses have considered setting a big screen adventure featuring this team in the decade they were created, and it would certainly help the franchise stand apart from what's happening in the present day.
Just like Captain America: The First Avenger delivered a unique spin on World War II, Fantastic Four could do the same with the Swinging Sixties, and the heroes wearing those classic blue costumes and battling the likes of Mole Man and Annihilus during that period would actually work rather well.
Marvel Studios could even use these 60s set adventures to set the stage for stories set in the present; after being vanquished by the team in this decade, Galactus returning decades later (once he knows Reed Richards is no longer a threat) makes sense, as would Reed and Sue's children - Franklin and Valeria - being portrayed as adult heroes in other upcoming releases.