DISSECTING A FAMOUS FAMILY’S MCU DEBUT

WE TAKE A MAGNIFYING GLASS TO THE FANTASTIC FOUR’S KITSCH CASTING ANNOUNCEMENT

1. THEY’RE EMBRACING HOMELIFE!

They’re arriving late to the MCU, but to fans the Fantastic Four are known as ‘Marvel’s First Family’. It’s not just because they’re the characters who launched the Marvel Universe back in 1961 — they’re also the first superhero team to share a bond on and off the battlefield. Here we have father figure/ scientist Reed Richards (aka Mr Fantastic; to be played by Pedro Pascal), his light-bending wife Sue Storm (the Invisible Woman; Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny (the Human Torch; Joseph Quinn), who can project fire from his body, and Reed’s best pal Ben Grimm (the Thing; Ebon Mossbachrach), a big human-rock hybrid.

2. IT HAS A ’60S SETTING!

With their landmark place in Marvel history, and an origin tied to the Space Race, the Four have always felt at home in the ’60s. Fans have long suspected their MCU debut might be a period piece, something this teaser might confirm. There are plenty of nods to the decade, from the retro fonts to a photo of Grimm posed like an Apollo astronaut. But whether this is really a clue to the movie’s setting or just a fun nod to their roots remains to be seen.

3. THERE’S A LIFE-SIZED CLUE?

One Easter egg might help narrow the year down even further: an issue of Life magazine from December 1963. Could this hint at the film’s plot? ’63 saw the FF encounter some major villains who would fit right in with Marvel’s current plans. These include Rama-tut, an ancient Egyptian variant of Kang, and Molecule Man, an über-powerful baddie who’s a major player in the soon-to-be-adapted Secret Wars saga.

4. HI, H.E.R.B.I.E.!

The team’s oft-forgotten robot sidekick H.E.R.B.I.E. is a surprise inclusion here, just as he was in 1978 when he debuted in the Fantastic Four cartoon series. Created for the show to replace the Human Torch, whose rights were tied up elsewhere, H.E.R.B.I.E. soon made his way to the comics, where he now serves as a babysitter for the Richards family.

THE FANTASTIC FOUR IS IN CINEMAS FROM 25 JULY 2025