Marvel Studios’ Kevin Feige at Disney’s 2024 CinemaCon Presentation. Photo: Disney.
Preview:
- Kevin Feige confirmed the Fantastic Four as appearing in the next ‘Avengers’ movies.
- Their stand-alone new movie is about to wrap shooting.
- The studio head also offered an update on the use of X-Men characters going forward.
With the huge theatrical success of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and the buzzy Disney+ hit ‘Agatha All Along,’ Marvel Studios finds itself in a better place heading in 2025 than at almost any point in its turbulent time since ‘Avengers: Endgame.’
And, looking to assure fans (not to mention his Disney paymasters), Marvel boss Kevin Feige offered an upbeat tone at the recent Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, talking up things to come.
While he didn’t announce anything new, he did confirm a few details and offered some updates about when we can expect to see the likes of the X-Men characters in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Related Article: Marvel Studios Stuns Hall H With ‘Avengers’ News and Robert Downey Jr.
Feige on the Fantastic Four
(L to R) Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn, Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby present ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
Marvel’s “First Family” are set to formally arrive in the MCU via their new reboot launch movie, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach starring as the title characters alongside the likes of Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps.’
That movie is due next summer (July 25th, to be exact) and Feige, sporting a cap bearing the characters’ iconic logo, talked it up as the movie he’s most excited about for 2025.
Here’s what he said about their movie and beyond, via Deadline:
“They wrap next week, the movie comes out next summer, and then all those characters go right into the next Avengers movies, so I’m very excited for the future of the Fantastic Four.”
Yes, the new reboot will indeed usher the characters into the wider MCU, and they’ll be facing one of their biggest antagonists, Dr. Doom (played by Robert Downey Jr., no less) in ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’ They’ll also be seen in ‘Avengers: Secret Wars,’ with both movies directed by Joe and Anthony Russo and landing in 2026 and 2027.
Feige talks the X-Men
(L to R) Ryan Reynolds as Deadpool/Wade Wilson and Hugh Jackman as Wolverine/Logan in 20th Century Studios/Marvel Studios’ ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo by Jay Maidment. © 2024 20th Century Studios / © and ™ 2024 MARVEL.
With Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, the opportunity arose not only to use the Fantastic Four, but also the sprawling universe of X-Men characters. We’ve seen alternate universe versions in a couple of movies (and ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ served as a wry, loving tribute to Fox’s X-Movies and more), but according to Feige, we can expect to see more mutants in the future.
This was his comment:
“I think you will see that continues in our next few movies with some X-Men players that you might recognize. Right after that, the whole story of ‘Secret Wars’ really leads us into a new age of mutants and of the X-Men. Again, it’s one of those dreams come true. We finally have the X-Men back.”
(L to R) Bucky Barnes (Sebastian Stan), Ghost (Hannah John-Kamen), Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh), John Walker (Wyatt Russell), and Red Guardian/Alexei Shostakov (David Harbour) in Marvel Studios’ Thunderbolts*. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 Marvel.
But let’s not forget ‘Thunderbolts*’ which lands on May 2nd, 2025. Feige also took a moment to acknowledge their appeal:
“That’s what Marvel is all about: it’s taking characters from all different types of places and franchises and putting them together. That’s what the ‘Avengers’ is, that’s what ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ is.”
“Careful who you assemble.”
An irreverent team-up featuring depressed assassin Yelena Belova alongside the MCU’s least anticipated band of misfits. Read the Plot
What else does Marvel have in store for 2025?
Red Hulk/President Thaddeus Ross (Harrison Ford) in Marvel Studios’ Captain America: Brave New World’. Photo courtesy of Marvel Studios. © 2024 Marvel.
On the big screen front, Marvel’s 2025 kicks off with ‘Captain America: Brave New World,’ in which Anthony Mackie’s Cap must battle a conspiracy (and a hulked-out Harrison Ford).
That movie arrives on February 14th.
“Enter a brave new world.”
After meeting with newly elected U.S. President Thaddeus Ross, Sam finds himself in the middle of an international incident. He must discover the reason behind a… Read the Plot
Over on Disney+, we can expect the likes of ‘Daredevil: Born Again’ on March 4th, ‘Black Panther’ spin-off ‘Ironheart’ on June 24th and ‘Wonder Man’ in December next year.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Daredevil: Born Again.’