'The Fantastic Four' Update Revealed After MCU Movie Removed From 2025 Slate

A new update has surfaced regarding the highly-anticipated debut of Marvel’s First Family in the ever-expanding Marvel Cinematic Universe.

In July 2025, the Fantastic Four–legends of the comic book Marvel Universe–will make their live-action debut as a family in Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps, coming July 25, 2025. In the upcoming Marvel movie, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will make their own MCU debuts as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Susan Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ben Grimm/Thing, respectively.

The cast was announced earlier this year, with additional names like Julia Garner (Shala-Bal) and Ralph Ineson (Galactus) revealed in the months that followed. John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne have also been cast in undisclosed roles. A new update has now surfaced about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Lyonne confirms she has wrapped filming the MCU movie.

Lyonne confirmed to Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) that she had already wrapped filming on Fantastic Four, adding that working within the Marvel Cinematic Universe was a “gift” (and “gravy”).

She’s ‘crushing’ it! Natasha Lyonne calls being a part of the MCU a ‘gift’ and reveals that she is already done filming ‘Fantastic Four.’

She’s ‘crushing’ it! 😂 Natasha Lyonne calls being a part of the MCU a ‘gift’ and reveals that she is already done filming ‘Fantastic Four.’ 🦸‍♀️ pic.twitter.com/ijxh6NAZks

— Entertainment Tonight (@etnow) October 24, 2024

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Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is perhaps the most-anticipated title coming out of Marvel Studios next year. In February, Captain America: Brave New World will be officially released. Test screenings have reportedly not gone well for the upcoming MCU movie, add that to the boycott controversy, and it looks like Julius Onah’s film has an upward battle to climb.

The Phase Five finisher, Thunderbolts*, will follow Captain America: Brave New World in May. The team-up movie features, as Disney calls it, the “least-anticipated group of misfits” and seemingly centers on the formation of the titular squad and the internal struggles that collaboration presents. Another movie was originally slated for 2025, but that has now been (finally) removed from the slate.

Blade has languished in development chaos ever since Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige announced it back in 2019. With Mahershala Ali attached to star in the title role, Blade was set up for immense success, but with an apparently endless rotation of writers and directors, the project failed to hit the ground running.

As such, earlier this week, it was shared that Disney had replaced Blade‘s November 2025 release slot with Dan Trachtenberg’s new Predator: Badlands from 20th Century Studios.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the first official appearance of the Fantastic Four in the MCU proper–not counting John Krasinski’s turn as Reed Richards in Sam Raimi’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness (2022). This new addition to the MCU takes place in an alternate universe to the current timeline, although with what fans know about the future, the family will likely join it by the end.

The Fantastic Four’s appearance won’t be limited to Shakman’s movie. The team is slated to appear in Avengers: Doomsday (formerly Avengers: The Kang Dynasty) and Avengers: Secret Wars in 2026 and 2027, respectively. Kevin Feige confirmed the future of the powerful quartet while at San Diego Comic-Con in August this year.

Avengers: Doomsday will also see Robert Downey Jr. return to the MCU, although here as Victor Von Doom (AKA Doctor Doom) and not as Tony Stark/Iron Man. The casting was revealed on stage at SDCC following the confirmation that Anthony Russo and Joe Russo (the Russo Brothers) were returning to the blockbuster franchise to helm both the fifth and sixth Avengers entries.

Related: New Star to Replace Zoe Saldaña’s Gamora in MCU, Actor Gives Marvel 1 Rule for Casting

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on July 25, 2025. The film is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay created by Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Squires, Eric Pearson, and Peter Cameron. Filming commenced this past summer at Pinewood Studios in London.

Who do you think Natasha Lyonne is playing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!