For the first time in a decade, Marvel's legendary "First Family" is getting the feature film treatment once again, this time with the Marvel Cinematic Universe's next big anticipated project, The Fantastic Four. As many Marvel fans know, the comic characters known as Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing have a long history in comic book filmmaking. However, their record is not quite as immaculate as other long-running IPs like the Spider-Man or X-Men franchises.

The team's humble beginnings are flat-out weird, with their first feature film venture being the hysterically low-budget Roger Corman-produced picture from 1994. Then, in 2005, the team got a more appropriately big-budget picture, which was successful enough to warrant a sequel in the form of 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. The two 2000s movies aren't all that bad. In fact, the casting across the board for them is spot on, but their goofy tone and atmosphere made it difficult to portray the characters in an accurate manner that could be taken seriously. They're, at the very least, fun, but the same cannot be said for the notorious 2015 reboot. Otherwise known as "Fant4stic", this dramatic attempt to make a more serious story about The Fantastic Four backfired spectacularly, being completely shredded by critics and is considered a box office bomb. It also was an alleged production nightmare marred by several controversies, all of which were potent enough to the point where it looked like we might never get a decent Fantastic Four movie ever again.

But, alas! There is a light at the end of the tunnel. With the superteam's film rights migrating over to Disney and Marvel Studios following the 20th Century Studios merger, this opens the opportunity to introduce some of Marvel's most influential and historic characters to the ever-expanding MCU. Since being announced in 2020, fans have speculated fiercely on how Marvel would be tackling the characters and what story they may tell. It's been a long road of rumors and speculation, but now, we finally have a good sense of what to expect. To learn more about the return of Marvel's First Family and its release date, cast, plot details, and more, here is everything we know so far about The Fantastic Four.

Editor's Note: This piece was updated on May 12, 2024.

Does 'The Fantastic Four' Have a Release Date?

The Fantastic Four is the latest MCU film to undergo a release date shake-up, as it is now set to release on Friday, July 25, 2025. That means that The Fantastic Four has essentially swapped places with another anticipated theatrical Marvel film, that being the Thunderbolts ensemble anti-hero film. It's a somewhat surprising switch-up given that Thunderbolts has been facing some casting issues, but it still primes The Fantastic Four to open Marvel Studios' Phase 6 the same year that Thunderbolts concludes Phase 5.

The Fantastic Four will be opening amidst a crowded month of films that includes another highly anticipated superhero reboot in the form of James Gunn's Superman starring David Corenswet in the title role, which opens two weeks earlier. The film will also be competing against a new Jurassic World film rumored to star Scarlett Johansson and a reboot of The Naked Gun starring Liam Neeson.

Where Can You Watch 'The Fantastic Four'?

Unless stated otherwise, The Fantastic Four will almost certainly be released in theaters, as this is set to be the debut project of Phase 6. Once the film concludes its theatrical run, the film will likely become available to stream on Disney+.

Does 'The Fantastic Four' Have a Trailer?

The Fantastic Four hasn't begun production at the time of this writing, so a trailer is still a long way off. However, we did get something in terms of marketing material on Valentine's Day 2024, when Marvel announced the film's new release date, and its hotly anticipated cast with a retro-'60s style poster.

Who is Starring in 'The Fantastic Four'?

After months upon months of rumors and leaks, we finally know who will be playing the members of The Fantastic Four. The first casting choice should hardly come as a surprise, as Pedro Pascal will be portraying the inhumanly stretchy brilliant scientist, Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic. Pascal has become a juggernaut in the acting world, having starred in several major IPs and franchises like Game of Thrones, The Mandalorian, and The Last of Us. The part was initially thought to have gone to John Krasinski since he played the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but that was apparently just a simple cameo. Joining Pascal as his onscreen love interest is Vanessa Kirby, who will be playing Sue Storm, otherwise known as The Invisible Woman. Kirby's career, similar to Pascal, has also skyrocketed recently, having recently starred in the Mission: Impossible franchise and Ridley Scott's Napoleon.

Sue's brother, Johnny Storm, and the fiery hothead known as The Human Torch will be played by Joseph Quinn. If the name sounds familiar, Quinn made a name for himself through his breakout role as the fan-favorite Eddie Munson in Stranger Things. Speaking of fan-favorite TV characters, Ebon Moss-Bachrach will fill out the four as the mighty Thing, AKA Ben Grimm. Ebon Moss-Bachrach is certainly best known for his incredible performance as Cousin in The Bear, but he also had a small yet effective role in Andor. As a bonus, the poster also teased a fifth character, the Four's robotic companion H.E.R.B.I.E. That said, no announcement has been made for who could be playing the MCU's latest robot ally.

In April 2024, it was announced that Julia Garner, most known for her Emmy-winning role as Ruth in Ozark, will be playing the Shalla-Bal incarnation of the Silver Surfer. While the Norrin Rad incarnation may be the more popular version of the character, Shalla-Bal does still have a rich comic book history, and was Norrin Radd's lover. There is no word yet on whether Norrin Rad will appear in the film as well. Norrin Rad was previously portrayed by Doug Jones, through motion-capture, and Laurence Fishburne through voice-over, in the 2007 sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

In May 2024, it was announced that another Emmy-winner had joined the cast, Paul Walter Hauser of Black Bird and Richard Jewell fame. Details of who Hauser will be playing are being kept under-wraps, but there is speculation that he may be playing Mole Man, one of the superhero team's original foes.

A week later, it was announced that Academy Award nominee John Malkovich, likely most known for playing an exaggerated version of himself in Being John Malkovich, had been cast in an unknown role. On the same day, it was reported that Ralph Ineson, known for his roles in movies such as The VVitch and The Green Knight, had been cast as the iconic Marvel villain Galactus. The character was previously brought to the big screen in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where the character infamously appeared as a ginormous storm cloud in space. However, with Ineson's casting, it seems like we'll finally be getting a more comic-accurate depiction of the character.

You can also probably expect that their arch-rival Doctor Doom will have some sort of presence.

What Is the Plot of 'The Fantastic Four'?

Plot details for The Fantastic Four are being concealed for now, but the Valentine's Day poster does drop a few hints about where the film may take place (or rather, when). The poster is clearly designed as an homage to the ads of the 1950s and 1960s, even featuring a unique version of the Marvel logo. It's possible that The Fantastic Four could be the latest period piece to come from Marvel Studios and be set during that time period, which would explain why the modern heroes of the MCU have yet to reference or mention the team. This theory is also supported by the fact that the film is being directed by Matt Shakman, who previously helped bring the sitcom dystopia world of WandaVision to life.

Who Is Making 'The Fantastic Four'?

When The Fantastic Four was first announced, Jon Watts, the director of the Tom Holland-led Spider-Man trilogy was attached to helm the film. However, Watts ended up departing from the project and is now working on the upcoming Disney+ series, Star Wars: Skeleton Crew. Now, The Fantastic Four will be directed by prestige television filmmaker Matt Shakman, who directed all nine episodes of the smash hit MCU series, WandaVision. The screenplay for The Fantastic Four is set to be penned by Avatar: The Way of Water screenwriter Josh Friedman and The Last of the Great Romantics writing duo Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. As with every other Marvel Studios project, Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige will be executive producing.

Are the Previous 'Fantastic Four' Adaptation Streaming Online?

'Fantastic Four' (2005)

The Roger Corman film isn't streaming online, but the other three Fantastic Four adaptations are, starting with Fantastic Four 2005. Here, Dr. Redd Richards (Ioan Gruffudd) recruits his companions Ben Grimm (Michael Chiklis), Johnny Storm (Chris Evans), Sue Storm (Jessica Alba), and Victor Von Doom (Julian McMahon) for a potentially revolutionary space mission. While out of Earth's atmosphere, the group is hit by a solar storm that grants each of them unique and miraculous powers. The group's first thought is to find a cure, but they soon realize they have a greater responsibility when Victor decides to use his powers for evil. Fantastic Four 2005 is streaming on Disney+.

Watch on Disney+

'Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer' (2007)

Picking up where Fantastic Four left off is Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, which sees the team face a deadly intergalactic threat. They discover their planet is facing several cataclysmic disasters, with the source of these disasters being an alien being called The Silver Surfer (Laurence Fishburne/Doug Jones). To find out what the Surfer's purpose and intent is, the team is forced to work together with their old enemy, Doctor Doom. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer is streaming on Disney+.

Watch on Disney+

'Fant4stic' (2015)

The much-maligned reboot sees a much darker version of the Fantastic Four's story. We mean that literally because the lighting in the movie makes things sort of tough to see. This time, instead of a solar storm off planet, Reed Richards (Miles Teller), Sue Storm (Kate Mara), Johnny Storm (Michael B. Jordan), and Ben Grimm (Jamie Bell) get their powers from an alternate dimension. The same happens for Victor Von Doom (Toby Kebbell), who also decides to use his newfound abilities for evil. Fant4stic is streaming on Max.

Watch on Max