As we entered this past weekend with the release of Thor: Love and Thunder we slowly move along the MCU phase 4 timeline and its completion. With about four movies left to go and all in some form of production or another, Kevin Feige, the mastermind behind the MCU has said that we are close to getting a clear picture of where this phase is headed. In his words, “I think there have been many clues already, that are at least apparent to me, of where this whole saga is going. But we’ll be a little more direct about that in the coming months, to set a plan, so audiences who want to see the bigger picture can see a tiny, tiny, tiny bit more of the roadmap.” With tent pole franchises like Thor, Black Panther, Ant-Man, and Captain Marvel still to come, I do look forward to where this goes especially with news going back to December 2020 that Marvel’s first family of superheroes, the Fantastic Four, was going to close out the phase and lead the charge into phase five.

But we have had at least four movies released since 1994 about the team and yet they always appear to be critical and fan duds, don’t get me wrong, they all made money at the box office but fans could never really get behind the projects leading to multiple sequels and spin-offs. I mean the 1994 film by B-Movie magnate Roger Corman was never released for public consumption! So, what can we do to finally bring success to this franchise filled with endless potential? Well, if Disney or Kevin Feige is listening and reading then take some notes.

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Skip The Origin Story

This may seem a little counter-intuitive but with over 20 years of The Fantastic Four in the movies, we can do away with the team getting together for the first time, flying out into space, and then getting their powers through cosmic rays followed by 45 minutes of them learning to use their powers and the ultimate decision to use those powers for good and to team up together. We have learned in some recent superhero movies like The Batman or Morbius or even the introduction of the character America Chavez in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness that we gloss over the origin and get to the good stuff makes for a more dynamic storyline and easier for people to follow.

Keep The Consequences International

One of the things Kevin Feige and the MCU has been able to stay on top of everything is to ensure that while some of the stories may seem isolated to one particular group or representation, there is an international consequence to everything that happens on screen or that there is more to their problems then what may be happening within their own city. Yes, The Fantastic Four could fight in New York City or Chicago, or Miami but their actions must be felt globally. Anytime you watch an MCU movie now, talk of the “Snap” and the “Blip” is never far away from the storyline. If The Fantastic Four look to shape phase 5, then we need to make sure there are global consequences for whatever they do.

Don’t Shy Away From Fan Casting Or Marquee Names

**Spoiler Alert for Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness** When the scene with the Illuminati came and there stood John Krasinski as the main character of the Fantastic Four, Reed Richards, appeared. Everyone was absolutely ecstatic! He was a perfect casting choice for the role with him appearing without much force or believability he could be that guy. Krasinski has not been far removed from the role of Mr. Fantastic and in fact, it has been something circulating since 2016 when in an interview on Conan O’Brien he mentioned he was close to becoming Captain America which ultimately was given to Chris Evans (a Fantastic Four alumni). It was fan art that showed him as Mr. Fantastic in 2018 which essentially gifted the role to him forever in the eyes of many fans. Some people including this writer suggest we get Emily Blunt, the real-life wife of John Krasinski, in as Sue Storm. The rest can be whomever you want but hiring no-name actors or previous indie darlings may not be the best bet right now for a fifth movie.

The Villain Doesn’t Have To Be Dr. Doom

Since the early days of the comics, Dr. Doom has been synonymous with the Fantastic Four. The character Viktor Von Doom has been a thorn in the side of the team for all the movies but in this MCU we don’t need him and can instead utilize some of the other villains in the rogues’ gallery which are already being hinted at in some of the previous movies and some of the upcoming movies. Some villains of the Fantastic Four already hinted at our directly referenced include the Kree, the bad guys from Captain Marvel, the Skrulls from numerous movies and TV shows in the MCU including Captain Marvel, Wandavision, and Spider-Man: Far From Home, and Ronan the Accuser from Guardians of the Galaxy and Avengers: End Game. However, we have one big interesting Fantastic Four villain upcoming which could be a main bad guy over the next couple of years with the confirmed appearance of Namor in the upcoming Black Panther 2. Namor is the prince of Atlantis and while his background in the movie is unsure if he is to be connected ongoing now with the MCU and should he be going up against the kingdom of Wakanda, he could be the MCU answer to Dr. Doom who himself is the lord and ruler of his own fictional country.

The biggest issue with the previous Fantastic Four movies is that they lacked direction and a clear vision for their end game (pun intended). But what we have working in their favour now is a program director in Kevin Feige who can guide this to success and keep it on track.

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