Edgar Wright began developing anAnt-Manmovie years before the MCU even existed. When the franchise took over Hollywood and Wright’sAnt-Manmovie was integrated into Phase Two, theShaun of the Deaddirector’s vision didn’t gel with Kevin Feige’s universe-building,he stepped down from the project, and the search was on for a new filmmaker to take the helm. Such directors as Adam McKay, Nicholas Stoller, and David Wain were considered before Marvel hired Peyton Reed.
At the time, Reed was known for directing crowd-pleasing comedies likeBring It On,The Break-Up, andYes Man, which suited the featherlight tone that Marvel wanted forAnt-Man. He’d never directed a comic book movie or worked with Marvel Studios before, but it wasn’t for lack of trying. Years earlier, according toComicBook.com, Reed pitched an unconventional ‘60s-set movie about Marvel’s first family.
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During a Q&A hosted by Collider following an IMAX screening ofAnt-Man and the Wasp, Reed explained, “I actually developedFantastic Fourwhen it was at Fox, and this would have been about 2002 or 2003. I was doing a movie at Fox at the time and they were gonna doFantastic Four, and I went in and pitched to [then-studio boss] Tom Rothman.”
The most conventional approach to a superhero movie is to transplant the hero or heroes’ origin story into a contemporary setting, but according to Reed, hisFantastic Fourmovie was going to take place in the ‘60s, when the team debuted in the comics. He explained, “I developed it for about a year and we went through some different permutations and some different writers, but yes, one of the big ideas wasa set-in-the-‘60s thing.” And not only was it set in the ‘60s, Reed added, “We were not going to even deal with the origin story. It was just going to be like you’re in Downtown Manhattan and they’re there.”
Structurally, Reed compared his vision for aFantastic Fourmovie tothe Beatles’ big-screen hitA Hard Day’s Night.A Hard Day’s Nightstars the Fab Four as themselves, going about their daily lives ahead of a TV appearance. Seemingly, Reed’sFantastic Fourmovie would’ve been a sort of hangout movie depicting everyday situations in the team’s lives instead of following them into space to face a world-ending threat in a neat three-act plot. Exploring superheroes’ daily lives is one of the great aspects of the comics that’s usually lost in their movie adaptations.
Reed confessed that he always doubted the studio’s interest in his vision: “It was a pretty exciting idea. At the time – again, this was 2002 or ’03, early on, way pre-MCU – I felt like Fox was not gonna make it.” Fox did end up making use of its Fantastic Four film rights, but the resulting 2005 movie directed by Tim Story is very different than Reed’s vision. It covers the team’s origin story, takes place in the present day, and isn’t very good (but slightly better than its 2015 reboot,Fant4stic).
Marvel Studios has sincereacquired the film rights to the Fantastic Four, and Feige has begun developing a reboot set in the MCU. While Reed lobbied for the job, he ultimately wasn’t hired to realize his vision for aFantastic Fourmovie. Instead, the project will be helmed by Jon Watts, the director of Tom Holland’sSpider-Mantrilogy. But the MCU’s new big bad Kang the Conqueror is set to appear inAnt-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, so it’s possible that the Fantastic Four will cross over into the Reed-helmed threequel.
It’s unclear how the Fantastic Four will be incorporated into the MCU. The ‘60s setting of Reed’s pitch is perfect for Marvel’s first family, but it’ll be difficult to explain in the context ofa world full of established Avengers. Phase Four seems to be blowing the multiverse wide open, but Marvel can’t use the multiverse as a crutch to hit the reset button every time it’s tricky to introduce characters like the Fantastic Four or the X-Men or Blade.
Skipping the origin story is also a strong idea, because most moviegoers are at least vaguely familiar with how the team got their powers. Likethe MCU’sSpider-Manseries, this will be the third attempt at a big-budget studioFantastic Fourfranchise, so the origin story doesn’t need to be told yet again.Fant4sticpresented a YA version of the Fantastic Four with Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben all depicted as naive college-aged kids. The definitive forms of these characters have Reed and Sue as a middle-aged married couple ranking among Marvel’s wisest, most experienced heroes and Johnny as a hotshot twenty-something.
But if the Fantastic Four of the MCU are already veteran heroes, it’ll beg the question: why didn’t they help fight Thanos? This could become a problem in the MCU’s future. With more and more large-scale storylines getting compounded into the franchise’s worldbuilding, putting its characters into little boxes, it’ll just get harder and harder for unique visions like Peyton Reed’s ‘60s-setFantastic Fourhangout movie orEdgar Wright’s original plan forAnt-Manto make it to screens.
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