‘Fantastic Four’ Firing Explained Amid Disney’s MCU Reset Confirmation
As Marvel Studios maps out its future, the studio is also facing renewed discussion about its past—particularly how certain projects helped shape the superhero movie landscape.
After a turbulent Phase Four—marked by the rush of Disney+ series and holiday specials—Phase Five concluded with Jake Schreier’s Thunderbolts* (2025), also marketed as The New Avengers. The film became a critical breakthrough for Marvel, cementing Schreier as a filmmaker to watch. His success landed him the opportunity to direct Marvel’s highly anticipated X-Men entry, now considered the crown jewel of what’s to come.
Marvel intends to use the X-Men to reset the 17-year-old franchise while signaling the arrival of a new saga. According to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, this “Mutant Saga” will not be a strict reboot, but rather a narrative evolution following the climactic events of Avengers: Doomsday (2026) and Avengers: Secret Wars (2027).
The Russo Brothers are set to direct both Doomsday and Secret Wars, films that Feige insists are less about ending a chapter—as Avengers: Endgame (2019) did—and more about paving the way for what’s next.
Marvel’s Phase Six began with The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025). Directed by Matt Shakman and led by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the movie had a massive opening weekend before faltering in its second frame. Despite its drop, Disney CEO confirmed during the company’s third-quarter earnings call that Marvel’s First Family remains integral to the MCU, with Feige previously locking the team into the Avengers lineup years before First Steps arrived.
Julia Garner and Ralph Ineson also joined the cast as Shalla-Bal and Galactus, respectively. While First Steps didn’t sustain its early box office momentum, many critics and fans have labeled it the definitive Fantastic Four movie after years of false starts in 2005, 2007, and 2015.
The team’s cinematic journey began with Tim Story’s Fantastic Four, released July 8, 2005, by 20th Century Fox. Long before the MCU took off with Iron Man in 2008, the film brought Marvel’s original superhero family to theaters.
The movie introduced Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/Thing. Together, they gained their powers following a cosmic radiation mishap, leading to their battle with Victor Von Doom, played by Julian McMahon. Kerry Washington also appeared as Alicia Masters.
Although the film faced critical pushback for its pacing and dialogue, it grossed more than $333 million worldwide on a $100 million budget, becoming a commercial success. Its lighter tone differentiated it from darker superhero films of the era and set the stage for 2007’s sequel, Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
But the film’s history could have looked very different had the original plans stayed intact.
During an appearance on Hanna Flint’s Fade to Black podcast, director Chris Columbus opened up about being removed from the 2005 project.
“We were in a weird situation,” Columbus explained. “On the first Fantastic Four, I had worked on a script. There were a lot of writers involved. They were about to make a movie, and I was producing it. I met with the director and had some ideas.”
Columbus said he wanted the design to reflect the style of Jack Kirby and Marvel’s Silver Age. “I basically said, ‘Some of this conceptual art should feel more like Jack Kirby, the creator of the Fantastic Four, and should feel more like the Silver Age of Marvel,'” he recalled. “I left that meeting and on the way back from my house, I got a call from the head of 20th Century Fox saying I was fired and had too much of an opinion.”
Columbus also admitted he has no plans to tackle a superhero film again, despite his love of Raimi’s Spider-Man 2 (2004) and Matt Reeves’ The Batman (2022). “I realized I don’t have a desire to make those movies anymore because people are doing them better than I ever could at this point in my career,” he said.
Watch the full interview here:
As Marvel pushes toward the finale of the Multiverse Saga, with major releases lined up through 2028, including the potential of Black Panther 3, the studio faces both opportunity and pressure to recapture the cultural dominance it achieved during Phase Three.
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