The MCU’s fifth phase of projects just kicked off with Ant-Man and The Wasp: Quantumania (you can read our review here) which introduces one of Marvel Comics’ most compelling villains in Jonathan Majors‘ Kang the Conqueror. The Conqueror is the second Variant of Kang to show up in the Multiverse Saga and we know he won’t be the last as the narrative progresses towards Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars. With such a powerful and cunning villain set to antagonize the heroes of the MCU, they’ll need all the help they can get and a new rumor suggests that one of Marvel Comics’ powerhouses may be ready to join the MCU in Phase 6.
A recent report suggests that the casting process for the 2025 Fantastic Four film is kicking off in earnest and that Marvel Studios plans to start by finding their Susan Storm, adding fuel to the fire that star Mila Kunis could be in contention for the pivotal role. Hot on the tail of this potential casting coincidence comes another intriguing tidbit from YouTube. According to the YouTube personality, Marvel Studios is skipping the origin and angling to introduce a more experienced Fantastic Four who are a bit farther down the road in life and, in the case of Sue and Reed, have already become parents!
Though the rumor doesn’t specify, assuming Marvel Studios is following comic book canon in this regard, Sue and Reed’s first child is Franklin Richards, a character whose vast set of powers includes reality warping, matter manipulation and time travel. As an adult, Franklin was powerful enough to make Galactus his herald and lived free of the rules of the omniverse. As a child, however, as he would likely be portrayed in the film, Franklin’s powers would often manifest themselves subconsciously making him a wild card. The character played a large role in Jonathan Hickman’s companion Fantastic Four and Future Foundation series and with Hickman’s influence already being felt in the Multiverse Saga, it’s not surprising that his work may inspire Marvel Studios Fantastic Four and, potentially, Avengers: Secret Wars.
What about the Richards’ second child, Valeria? While it’s unknown just how far into their superhero careers the Fantastic Four are, the unique circumstances of Sue’s pregnancy with Valeria and Franklin’s role in saving his sister’s life–along with Dr. Doom–it would be a shame not to see it on screen. All things being equal, some exposition could fill in the blanks of Franklin’s birth and early life just fine, but Val’s story may require and deserve to unfold on screen.
Source: YouTube
