Thanks to Disney’s purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios has regained the rights to both the X-Men and Fantastic Four franchises. While Marvel has since been laying the groundwork to debut mutants in the MCU, Fantastic Four is a much bigger challenge due to a variety of factors, one that’s only getting bigger with time. Here are the reasons why Marvel Studios has potentially waited too long to debut the MCU’s Fantastic Four, and why it can still be great despite the notable hurdles.

The Last Fantastic Four Movie Was A Colossal Failure

A Commercial and Critical Flop

Released in 2015, the last Fantastic Four movie (aka Fan4stic) was widely considered to be a massive failure. Directed by Josh Trank, this preceding Fantastic Four did worse at the box office than both of Fox’s original films released in the early 2000s, while also having one of the lowest box office returns for a superhero blockbuster ever. The true irony of this movie was that it was originally made by Fox so that the studio could retain the rights to the franchise.

2015’s Fantastic Four was also a major flop critically as well. Starring Miles Teller (Reed Richards), Kate Mara (Sue Storm), Michael B. Jordan (Johnny Storm), Jamie Bell (Ben Grimm), and Toby Kebbell (Doctor Doom), the talented cast was plagued by a narrative that was incredibly dull and far too grounded for a team literally named “The Fantastic Four”. As a new origin story, the movie is nothing but formula and clichés while also being quite dark, something Marvel Studios will need to correct with their upcoming version of Marvel’s First Family.

The MCU Is No Longer A Guaranteed Success

There Have Been Missteps

Unfortunately, Marvel Studios’ movies are no longer guaranteed wins. In recent years, certain MCU projects have not had the expected levels of quality and success Marvel Studios and its fans would have hoped for. Between 2023’s Secret Invasion show and The Marvels alone, the MCU has certainly hit a pretty challenging rough patch. Largely viewed as one of the worst shows of 2023, Secret Invasion received incredibly negative reviews. Likewise, Disney has stopped reporting box office numbers for The Marvels entirely despite still being shown in theaters, having one of the worst box office returns the MCU has ever had across its 15-year history.

It does seem as though recent flops have motivated Marvel Studios to reassess and take new strategies, reducing quantity for the sake of quality while also adopting a more traditional production model when it comes to their future shows. With any luck, Marvel will find their footing in time before the production begins on the new Fantastic Four reboot. It would be a massive shame if it also fell pretty to the studios’ recent string of failures featured throughout the Multiverse Saga.

The MCU’s Fantastic Four Needs To Overcome Fox AND Marvel’s Failures

There’s An Increased Amount of Pressure

Fantastic Four Rumored MCU Cast With Pedro Pascal

At this point, there’s quite a bit of pressure coming from multiple sources when it comes to Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Not only does Marvel Studios have to overcome Fox’s failures with the First Family, but also its own mistakes in recent years. As such, it could be argued that if Marvel Studios had made Fantastic Four more of a priority in the wake of Avengers: Endgame, there wouldn’t have been as much pressure as there is now considering the studio was still riding the high of the crossover’s success while still being at the top of their game, back when Marvel Studios seemingly couldn’t do wrong.

Now, the cracks have begun to show with undeniable proof that MCU projects can certainly fail. Marvel Studios is no longer invincible, which means its new Fantastic Four reboot is under intense scrutiny including its rumored cast that has still yet to be confirmed, likely because Marvel Studios is rightfully taking its time with all aspects of the movie’s development and eventual projection. It’s safe to say that this upcoming movie may be one of the biggest challenges Marvel Studios has ever had to face in recent memory.

Why Marvel’s New Fantastic Four Movie Can Still Be Great

There’s An Exciting Amount Of Potential

So long as Marvel Studios is dedicated and does indeed shift their thinking with their shows and movies as has been indicated, Marvel’s Fantastic Four will hopefully be in a good place once production on the reboot actually begins. Presumably, with such a well-known property as The Fantastic Four that will debut a brand-new team, Marvel Studios and its president Kevin Feige will be much more hands-on than they were with other projects like Secret Invasion or The Marvels.

All signs are indeed pointing to the idea that Marvel Studios is indeed slowing down its release schedule for the sake of increased quality following the notable decline in recent years. It’s why Deadpool 3 is the only theatrical release happening in 2024 following a string of recent delays. To that end, it does seem as though Marvel’s Fantastic Four will be one of the first movies to perhaps benefit from Marvel Studios’ exciting decision to take a beat and get reentered for the MCU’s future.