Jon Watts’ Fantastic Four reboot is in active development at Marvel Studios, and that’s about the extent of our knowledge surrounding the project so far. A quick glance at the MCU‘s upcoming release schedule has led to speculation that it could be one of the 2023 films that have yet to stake out a locked-in debut alongside Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 and possibly Deadpool 3, but Kevin Feige is keeping his cards close to the chest as usual.
It’s about time Marvel’s First Family got the feature film treatment they deserved, though, with the four efforts so far ranging from Tim Story’s relentlessly mediocre pair of blockbusters to Josh Trank’s infamously dire 2015 effort. Of course, it’ll be a long while yet before any plot details or casting announcements become public knowledge, but that invariably hasn’t stopped the rumor mill from going into overdrive.
Case in point: Insider Daniel Richtman is now claiming that Iron Man and Reed Richards will meet each other at some point in the MCU, even though Kevin Feige recently voiced his sadness at the fact that the two characters would be unable to cross paths, which came hot on the heels of Robert Downey Jr. himself saying he’s done all that he can with the hero.
Of course, it’s not unusual for talent to lie to keep a surprise in tact and with the multiverse in play now, anything can technically happen in the MCU these days. Not to mention the fact that the Fantastic Four are well-versed in the ways of traversing alternate realities and multiple timelines. Still, if Richtman’s recent intel pans out, then RDJ won’t have a second to breathe soon, having already signed on for Ironheart and Armor Wars, as well as discussing a role in The Mandalorian along with sequels to Kiss Kiss Bang Bang and Dolittle.