“Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family!”

Thus began a surprise announcement by the official Marvel Studios Xwitter account this morning that revealed the logo, release date, and cast of the upcoming MCU film, The Fantastic Four:

First up, Mando himself, Pedro Pascal, will star as Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic, with Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One, Napoleon) at his side as Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman. Playing Sue’s brother Johnny, better known as the Human Torch, will be Joseph Quinn, the breakout star of Stranger Things season 4, and recent Emmy-winner Ebon Moss-Bachrach of The Bear will play Ben Grimm, aka Thing.

The mid-century poster design depicts the four stars in a sitcom-styled living room reminiscent of a Norman Rockwell painting, with a photo of a pre-transformation Ben Grimm in an astronaut’s suit — and posed near identically to a certain famous photo of Neil Armstrong — hanging on the wall. Grimm also appears to be reading an issue of Life Magazine published in 1963 with newly elected President Lyndon Johnson on the cover. In addition, Pedro Pascal posted the same image to his Instagram account with a hashtag of a Beatles lyric (#AllYouNeedIsLove), all of which seems to indicate that the film could be — at least in part — a period piece set in the 1960s.

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn

(Photo by Jon Kopaloff/Getty Images, Jeff Spicer/Getty Images, Alberto Rodriguez/GA/Getty Images, Dave Benett/Getty Images)

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Of course, we got our first look at an MCU Reed Richards when John Krasinski showed up as the character in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, fueling speculation (and, for some, hope) that he would reprise the role in the announced film alongside his wife, Emily Blunt, as Sue Storm. But rumors began circulating late last year that Pascal had been tapped for the role, and here we are.

The Fantastic Four will be directed by Matt Shakman, who, incidentally, has some experience with period sitcoms as director of WandaVision, and Wednesday’s announcement also revealed that the movie, which was originally slated to open in theaters on May 2, 2025, has instead moved to July 25, 2025, effectively swapping release dates with another entry in the MCU, Thunderbolts.

So will it be a retro adventure set in the 1960s? Will time travel be involved? Maybe a bit of dimension-hopping? We’ll just have to wait for more details as they’re revealed.

The Fantastic Four
(2025)
is currently scheduled for release on July 25, 2025.

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