Fantastic Four may end up delayed again after worrying rumor 

The MCU’s Fantastic Four movie may be stretching further into the future, with a new report indicating a fresh delay could be on the horizon.

While Deadpool may be the most exciting addition to the franchise since Disney’s acquisition of 20th Century Fox, the Fantastic Four is easily the most significant; they’re Marvel’s first family, after all.

However, their big-screen lineage isn’t especially befitting of their comic book legacy: there’s 1994’s schlocky rights-retainer, which was never officially released; 2005 and 2007’s of-their-time entries with Jessica Alba and Chris Evans; and then there’s 2015’s appalling reboot directed by Josh Trank.

The new movie is set to kick off Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, making it the first film on the runway next Avengers movies (the likely-rejigged Kang Dynasty and Secret Wars). But if recent rumors are true, it may be delayed once more.

Fantastic Four filming pushback may mean another delay

Fantastic Four’s shoot has been pushed to Q3 of 2024, as per Jeff Sneider. For it to make its May 2, 2025 release date, it’d need to commence filming anytime between July and September, wrap, and finish post-production in 10 months or less – that’s quite tight for a project of this scale.

“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,” Sneider tweeted.

The movie has already been delayed twice: it was originally set for release on November 8 this year, before being pushed to February 14, 2025. If all goes to plan, F4 will precede Thunderbolts on July 25 and Blade on November 7, with the first of the next Avengers double-bill arriving on May 1, 2026.

It’s believed Fantastic Four was planned to shoot this coming April, which would have given Pedro Pascal (who’s set to play Reed Richards) the space to shoot The Last of Us Season 2 and Weapons, the “epic” horror follow-up from Zach Cregger after Barbarian. According to Sneider, the star has dropped out of the latter feature to accommodate his Marvel schedule.

Despite hints from director Matt Shakman, we’ve yet to hear the confirmed cast for the movie. However, months of speculation, potential leaks, and other rumors point to this lineup: Pascal as Reed, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon-Moss Bachrach as Ben Grimm.

You can find out more about the Fantastic Four movie here.