Entertainment

Disney finally confirms it is working on a 'Fantastic 4' reboot and fans are hopeful at a chance for a good version of the movie

fantastic 4 jon watts marvel
Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige announced a "Fantastic Four" MCU movie is coming from director Jon Watts. Disney/Marvel Studios
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Marvel is working on a "Fantastic Four" reboot.

Marvel Studios' president Kevin Feige finally confirmed what fans have long speculated during Disney's investor day presentation on Thursday.

"I'm happy to announce a film about one of the truly iconic Marvel families, in fact, Marvel's first family, Fantastic Four," Feige said, closing out a round of many Marvel film and show announcements.

"We're working on a feature now and it will be directed by the director of our recent 'Spider-Man' films, Jon Watts," Feige added.

The comic includes the heroes Susan Storm/the Invisible Woman, Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Ben Grimm/Thing, Johnny Storm/Human Torch.

fantastic four
Here's how the "Fantastic Four" comic characters look.  Marvel

That's a big deal.

It's Disney's first real foray into playing with some of the Marvel characters it gained from its 20th Century Fox acquisition in 2019. The Disney/Fox deal gave the Mouse House the rights to characters including the X-Men, Deadpool, and Fantastic Four.

Disney purchased Marvel and 5,000 of its characters in 2009 for $4 billion. However, Marvel previously sold off some of its more lucrative characters, including Spider-Man and the X-Men to other studios (Sony and Fox, respectively) in order to stay afloat.

If any previous Fox-owned Marvel characters could use a reprieve, it's certainly the First Family of Marvel.

While Fox struck gold with the "X-Men" franchise, the studio consistently struggled to get a good version of "Fantastic Four" off the ground. 

Fox's first two attempts at "Fantastic Four" adaptations, starring Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, Ioan Gruffudd, and Chris Evans (who later played Captain America in the MCU), were both panned by fans and critics alike. 

fantastic four rotten tomatoes
Both the 2005 and 2007 movies were panned by critics and fans.  Rotten Tomatoes, Kirsten Acuna/Insider composite

And then there's the 2015 Josh Trank-directed reboot attempt, which sits at 9% on Rotten Tomatoes.

fantastic four
Kate Mara and Michael B. Jordan starred in the reboot.  20th Century Fox

Trank reviewed his film honestly last year on social platform Letterboxd saying the final film contains "two different movies in one movie competing to be that movie.

Feige's confirmation of a "FF" reboot has restored faith in fans who are hopeful that we may see a screen-worthy version of the characters because of the Marvel Cinematic Universe's pretty flawless track record (aside from "Thor 2").  

Some fans are already fancasting real-life couple John Krasinski and Emily Blunt as Sue Storm and Reed Richards.

Feige didn't give any date or timeline for the upcoming "Fantastic Four" project.

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Kirsten Acuna was a correspondent on Business Insider's Entertainment team covering TV, movies, and theme parks. She is Businness Insider's resident expert on all things "The Walking Dead." YKirsten covers superheroes and all things Disney (Marvel, Pixar, and live-action remakes). She is a verified film critic on Rotten TomatoesKirsten has previously written for TV Guide and Time Out New York Kids. She joined Business Insider's entertainment team in 2012 as a reporter, helping to build the team from two people. She holds a degree in magazine journalism and minors in both English and child family studies from Syracuse University.Follow her on Twitter @KirstenAcuna.