We finally have the cast for Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four’

Marvel gave its fans a surprise Valentine’s Day treat when it unveiled the cast of The Fantastic Four.

While couples were busy being all lovey-dovey and singles were busy being lonely-lonely, Marvel decided to make an announcement that caught everyone off-guard. Ever since Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, fans have been eager and anxious to see Marvel’s First Family debut in the MCU—and who Marvel will cast to play them.

Well, that was answered yesterday.

[Hero image: Marvel Studios]

Meet the cast of Marvel’s The Fantastic Four

In a retro-style poster reminiscent of the ‘60s, Marvel Studios unveiled the very first artwork for The Fantastic Four—and along with it, its cast. As previously rumoured, Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, the genius who has the ability to re-shape and stretch his body in any way he wants. Vanessa Kirby is Sue Storm, also known as the Invisible Woman. Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn will be playing Sue’s brother, Johnny, who gains the power to control fire and combust in flames. Finally, cousin himself, Ebon Moss-Bacharach, will take on the role of Ben Grimm aka The Thing. 

Will The Fantastic Four be set in the past—or is something else going on?

The poster sent fans into a frenzy celebrating the reveal of the cast, but others got busy theorising. Many are speculating that the movie may be set in the ‘60s because of… well, everything about the poster. From the art style, the way the logo is designed, and even the magazine Ben is reading, there’s a good possibility that it may be retrofuturistic movie of sorts.

That also brings up a lot of other questions. The MCU has gone back to the ‘70s before in Avengers: Endgame where Tony Stark and Steve Rogers have a run-in with Howard Stark, Peggy Carter, and Hank Pym. But if the Fantastic Four were around then, surely they would be mentioned?

Since this is the Multiverse Saga, it’s quite possible that The Fantastic Four isn’t set in the past but in the present—albeit in another retrofuturistic Jetson’s-style universe. After all, it’s not the first time we’ve seen a member of the First Family appear in the MCU: John Krasinski played a version of Reed Richards in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness. Kevin Feige also hinted in the book Marvel Studios: The Marvel Cinematic Universe – An Official Timeline that timelines could “crash or converge”, meaning that even the original 2004 films could be canon.

Does this version of the First Family come from a different universe than Iron Man, Thor, and Cap? Or is it really just set in the past? Guess we’ll find out when the movie hits theatres on July 25, 2025.