The exact future of the Fantastic Four on the big screen is uncertain, but it seems quite clear that, at some point, one way or another, the first family of superhero comics is going to make their debut in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Back in 2005 Tim Story became the first (save an unreleased Roger Corman project) to make a big screen Fantastic Four movie, so you can be sure he has some thoughts on what to do with the characters going forward.
CinemaBlend's own Mike Reyes caught up with Story doing press for his newest film, Shaft, and asked him if he had any advice for the next director to take on Reed Richards et al. Story's first thought was simple and clear...
First, I'd tell them to listen to Kevin Feige. Kevin Feige is the man.
As advice goes, this is a pretty solid suggestion. Kevin Feige gets a lot of the credit for making the Marvel Cinematic Universe the powerhouse that it is today. While writers, directors, and actors have changed from one project to the next, Feige is there overseeing everything to make sure that it all fits together and feels like it's part of a single cohesive universe.
Kevin Feige wasn't made the President of Marvel Studios until 2007, but he's been involved in Marvel movies of all kinds since the original X-Men in 2000. He was an executive producer on both the 2005 Fantastic Four movie as well as the follow up, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer in 2007. One can assume that Tim Story got to know Feige at that point and likely made his decision that Feige was "the man" back then.
Of course, Tim Story isn't entirely without some other advice, as he does say that doing research on Reed Richards wouldn't be a bad idea, but ultimately, Story thinks Marvel Studios has all this well in hand and fully expects the new MCU Fantastic Four to turn out great, saying...
I would just say, do all your research on Reed Richards. Stretching is not easy. But I wouldn't have much to say, they've got an incredible, incredible system happening over there and I don't think they need to be told anything. I can't wait to see it.
It does seem like adapting the Fantastic Four is perhaps a bit more difficult than other comics have been in recent years. None of the three films we've seen since 2005 have been as loved by fans as the average MCU project. Does Marvel Studios really have the magic touch to make this work? We'll have to wait and see.
Check out Tim Story's full comments to CinemaBlend in the clip below.
It's anybody's guess just when we might see the Fantastic Four join the MCU. From all indications, Marvel is in no hurry to incorporate the characters picked up from the Fox/Disney merger. They almost certainly had a plan for Phase 4, and possibly beyond, that didn't include any of these new characters, and it seems unlikely they would blow up everything just to add these characters in as soon as possible.
At this point it looks like we might not even get a hint of a new Fantastic Four until perhaps the upcoming Phase of the MCU has run its course.
