The potential future for the Marvel Cinematic Universe experienced a Big Bang-level of expansion when Disney acquired the library and licenses of 20th Century Fox in 2019. The move brought many of Marvel’s wayward children back into the fold, including the X-Men and Fantastic Four. Marvel has a host of announced movies in preparation, but news slipped out over the weekend that a well-known actress was heading to Australia to “film the latest Fantastic Four film.” But hold onto your cosmic-ray-proof space suits, because that isn’t quite true according to Deadline reporter Justin Kroll.
All I’m gonna say is this, Marvel just started meeting with writers on FANTASTIC FOUR, there is no script and it will be awhile before this film starts shooting
— Justin Kroll (@krolljvar) February 21, 2021
In a tweet, Kroll says Marvel Studios is in the earliest stages of planning a Fantastic Four film. The studio is still meeting with writers and doesn’t even have a potential script just yet, let alone a cast to work with.
That rumor comes as a result of a story from the Australian paper the Daily Telegraph, which published a story (paywall ahead) stating that Marvel plans to move its entire operation to Australia for the foreseeable future, and noted that actress Jennifer Lawrence (X-Men, Hunger Games) was heading there to begin filming Fantastic Four, with Jon Watts directing. There’s a grain of truth here, in that Marvel Studios filmed Shang-Chi and the Legends of the Ten Rings and is currently filming Thor: Love and Thunder in Australia.
But even if Lawrence is indeed cast in the film, the timing just doesn’t line up. Marvel Studios already has the completed Black Widow waiting for release, and The Eternals and Shang-Chi have finished filming. Meanwhile, Thor: Love and Thunder, the untitled Spider-Man 3, and the Sam Raimi-helmed Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness are already filming. Captain Marvel 2, Black Panther 2, and Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 are all in pre-production. While we’ve seen sort-of hints of the X-Men joining the MCU in WandaVision (beware spoilers!), there are so many films waiting in the wings that it seems unlikely Marvel Studios would already have gotten a Fantastic Four film planned and ready to go, let alone to start principal photography on. That’s not to mention that Jon Watts is still actively working on Spider-Man 3, last we heard. In the meantime, make sure to keep an eye on our tracker for every announced Marvel film.
