The Latest Delays and Casting Rumors
A major rumor claims that Marvel's Fantastic Four movie could be facing new delays. The MCU's Fantastic Four was initially set to be released on November 8, 2024, later being delayed to February 14, 2025. However, that was not the end of it, with the anticipated movie being delayed yet again to May 2, 2025, with Marvel Studios not even having a set cast for Fantastic Four yet.
Fantastic Four Marvel Comics Silhouette Poster
According to The InSneider, Fantastic Four will no longer start filming in the Spring as expected, moving to the third quarter. Due to Pedro Pascal's busy schedule, who is reportedly playing Reed Richards in the MCU movie, he had to drop out of Zach Cregger’s Weapons. If Pascal is truly set to be Marvel's Reed Richards, then Fantastic Four's possible delay could be due to the actor starting filming on The Last of Us season 2 around the time that Fantastic Four was set to enter production or Pascal's rumored casting in director Ari Aster's Eddington.
Impact of Delay on MCU Movie's Roster
If Marvel's Fantastic Four has truly pushed its filming start to the third quarter, then that will likely bring some repercussions. With the movie currently slated for a May 2025 release, Fantastic Four's rumored filming start delay would make the MCU's debut of Marvel's First Family likely to shift. A July to September 2024 filming start, with a few months of filming, would put the end of production on Fantastic Four either close to 2025 or in the new year.
With the possible delay to Fantastic Four's filming start, not only is the movie's release date at risk again, but the MCU film could end up losing cast members. While Pascal is the only reported actor to have been cast in Fantastic Four as Reed Richards, the rest of the team's members are rumored to have found their actors. According to several rumors over the past few months, The Crown's Vanessa Kirby is playing Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Stranger Things' Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and The Bear's Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Ben Grimm/The Thing.
Following the Hollywood strikes of 2023, the industry is slowly picking up the pace on the movies and TV shows that were delayed. Due to that, many high-profile actors have a backlog of projects that have started to conflict with one another. The MCU knows that all too well, as Steven Yeun dropped out of playing Sentry in Thunderbolts due to scheduling conflicts after the Marvel film was delayed. If Fantastic Four has truly set its cast, a further delay could lead to one or more of the rumored actors having to drop out of the film. Marvel Studios has yet to announce new Fantastic Four delays.
The Future of Fantastic Four
Fantastic Four is currently scheduled for a May 2, 2025, release. The industry is slowly picking up the pace on the movies and TV shows that were delayed. Due to that, many high-profile actors have a backlog of projects that have started to conflict with one another. If Fantastic Four has truly set its cast, a further delay could lead to one or more of the rumored actors having to drop out of the film. Marvel Studios has yet to announce new Fantastic Four delays.
