Credit: 20th Century StudiosMarvel Studios’ highly-anticipated Fantastic Four (2025) reboot is reportedly being hit with yet another delay, and it could be partially due to the jam-packed schedule of its leading man, Pedro Pascal.
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Ever since it was announced at San Diego Comic-Con back in July 2019, director Matt Shakman’s eagerly awaited Fantastic Four revival has experienced something of a rocky road to production. It was initially set to be released on November 8, 2024, but has since been pushed back due to a number of unforeseen circumstances, including the pandemic, the now-resolved WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, and the former villain of the Multiverse Saga, Jonathan Majors’ Kang the Conqueror, being booted from the MCU last month.
With so much uncertainty surrounding Fantastic Four — including its cast, which, despite plenty of internet speculation, remains unconfirmed — it sounds like the superhero flick could be postponed yet again, according to a new report from scooper Jeff Sneider (via X).
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Based on his findings, it seems the production has been hit with a delay, which could ultimately lead to the movie’s May 2025 release date being pushed back. Now, filming allegedly won’t get underway until Q3 (between July and September), meaning a change in the premiere date may be imminent.
Meanwhile, if Fantastic Four won’t start shooting until Q3 of this year… an early May 2025 release date sure does sound ambitious. We’ll see if that sticks. Unlikely, would be my guess.
Meanwhile, if Fantastic Four won’t start shooting until Q3 of this year… an early May 2025 release date sure does sound ambitious. We’ll see if that sticks. Unlikely, would be my guess. https://t.co/wy1MLlOx49
— Jeff Sneider (@TheInSneider) January 11, 2024
Sneider’s findings seem to contradict previous reports, which have indicated that cameras were set to begin rolling on the Fantastic Four reboot around April of this year. While the Hollywood insider didn’t get into specifics, he did add that Pedro Pascal — who has long been rumored to play Reed Richards — has been forced to drop out of Barbarian (2022) director Zach Cregger’s new horror film, Weapons (2024), in order to clear his schedule for the upcoming Marvel entry.
Weapons is supposed to begin filming in February, and with Pascal expected to start shooting Season 2 of The Last of Us in Spring, it’s no wonder the Golden Globe-nominated actor had to free up his schedule a bit — if he really is locked in to play Mister Fantastic, that is.
Pascal is also supposedly being eyed by horror mastermind Ari Aster for his next movie, Eddington (TBA), a Western noir starring Joaquin Phoenix. However, it sounds like nothing is set in stone just yet, as Aster reportedly made the offer to Pascal pre-strike. With so much on his plate, it sounds like 2024 is going to be an incredibly hectic year for the Narcos alum, though it’s hard to say if his schedule is at all related to Fantastic Four being postponed.
For now, we’re still waiting on an official cast announcement from Marvel HQ, but it’s looking highly likely that Vanessa Kirby will join Pascal as Sue Storm, AKA the Invisible Woman, Netflix’s Stranger Things alum Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, AKA the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, AKA the Thing. There are rumors that both Cillian Murphy and Mads Mikkelsen are top picks to play supervillain Doctor Doom, but other actors are sure to be in the running.
As for the plot of Fantastic Four, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige has been pretty hush-hush about the whole thing. However, he did reveal that the film will not be just another origin story for the super-team, telling The Hollywood Reporter in 2022, “A lot of people know this origin story. A lot of people know the basics. How do we take that and bring something that they’ve never seen before?”
Although Jeff Sneider doesn’t exactly have a perfect track record when it comes to MCU leaks, his claims that Fantastic Four will likely suffer another delay do align with Disney’s recent re-shuffling of all upcoming Marvel projects as an aftermath of the Hollywood strikes. From the sounds of it, the studio is taking its time with the remainder of Phase 5 and into Phase 6, as only one MCU movie — Deadpool 3 — is slated to arrive in 2024.
With Avengers: Secret Wars (2027) on the not-so-distant horizon, Marvel will have to kick things into high gear for Fantastic Four if talk of Doctor Doom potentially replacing Kang ends up being true. Still, Feige and Co. are — and wisely so — seemingly not rushing its production, as it’s crucial to get this reboot right. And given that Pedro Pascal is now one of the most in-demand actors working in Hollywood today, it wouldn’t be at all surprising to learn that the movie is working around his schedule for the time being, even if that means pushing its release back to Summer or Fall of 2025.
Who are your picks for the Fantastic Four cast? Let us know in the comments below!