After acquiring the live-action rights to the characters in the 2019 Disney-Fox merger, Marvel Studios took great care in bringing The Fantastic Four into the MCU. Six years later, the First Family hit the screen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps in what has been roundly praised as one of the studio’s best efforts in The Multiverse Saga. Though the film suffered a precipitous dropoff in its second week at the box office, the Matt Shakman-helmed sci-fi flick charmed audiences with its retrofuturistic setting and old-timey sense of hope.
The titular four are set to play key roles in both Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, which will keep the cast busy for most of the next year and a half, which means if a sequel were in the works, it would likely not hit theaters until 2028 or later. And now a new report from a familiar source looks to put concerns that the struggles at the box office might have put a premature end to the Fantastic Four franchise.
According to industry insider Jeff “The In” Sneider, following Disney President Bob Iger’s praise for the film, which he said “successfully launched this important franchise into the Marvel Cinematic Universe,” Kevin Feige and the crew at Marvel have decided that “Matt Shakman will likely return to direct a sequel.”
The powers that be at Marvel reportedly feel that their appearances in the next two Avengers films will serve as a springboard for a Fantastic Four sequel. With the studio currently holding four dates for Marvel Studios films in 2028, it’s very possible that the next installment could join Black Panther 3 and X-Men on the slate as the studio enters the post-Multiverse Saga era.
Source: Jeff Sneider
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