When Disney acquired rival studio 21st Century Fox in 2019, it allowed them to make the "Fantastic
Four" films available on the Disney+ streaming platform when it launched that November. However,
in August 2021, eagle-eyed fans noticed that 2005's "Fantastic Four" had been quietly removed
from Disney+. Why?
Released in 2005, "Fantastic Four" was panned by critics, with an unfortunate 27% rating
on Rotten Tomatoes. The film starred Marvel Cinematic Universe's Chris Evans as Johnny
Storm, along with Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, and Michael
Chiklis as Ben Grimm. "Fantastic Four" was eagerly anticipated by fans of the comics,
but was largely perceived as missing the mark. Especially disappointing was the film's depiction
of iconic Marvel villain Doctor Doom. Still, even with this poor critical response, the
film was a financial success, earning enough for Fox to greenlight a sequel, "Rise of the
Silver Surfer." This second installment didn't fare much better with critics, though.
Although the 2005 "Fantastic Four" has disappeared from Disney+, "Rise of the Silver Surfer"
is still available on the streaming service. The 2015 reboot of "Fantastic Four" starring
another future MCU star, Michael B. Jordan, is also available on the platform, as part
of what Disney calls the "Marvel Legacy Collection." Now that the 2005 film has disappeared, though,
will these movies also be leaving Disney+?
With constantly changing contracts and deals in the industry, it seems likely that every
Marvel movie ever made will eventually find a home on Disney+. There's probably a contractual
reason why the 2005 "Fantastic Four" disappeared, but it will probably find its way back to
the streamer after visiting some other platforms. After all, Disney is eager to make its brand
synonymous with all things Marvel, as demonstrated by their commitment to their partnership with
Sony.
When Spider-Man joined the MCU in 2016's "Captain America: Civil War," it was a huge deal. Sony
owned the rights to Peter Parker and all related characters, but was essentially "leasing"
the character to Marvel's creative team, while keeping most of the profits. In April 2021,
the companies furthered the deal, ensuring that Tom Holland's "Spider-Man" films would
soon be available on Disney+, after previously being available only on Netflix. Spider-Man
fully joining the MCU was a long time coming, and fans are equally as excited to see the
Fantastic Four stake their claim in the universe.
"Big fan. Spider-Man."
"Yeah, we'll talk about it later."
"Hey, everyone."
"Good job."
Meanwhile, while we're pretty sure that the 2005 "Fantastic Four" film will reappear on
Disney+ at some point in the future, MCU fans can also look forward to Marvel's first family
making a big cinematic comeback. A Fantastic Four project is in the works for the Marvel
Cinematic Universe, with "Spider-Man" director Jon Watts slated to direct. It's likely the
film will be hitting the screen sometime in 2023, although no further information is yet
available.
That, of course, hasn't stopped fans from speculating about what an MCU Fantastic Four
could look like. Many Marvel devotees are dead-set on John Krasinski joining the universe
as Reed Richards, with his real-life wife Emily Blunt as Sue Storm. Other popular fancastings
for Mr. Fantastic include "iZombie" star Rahul Kohli and "The Good Place" leading man William
Jackson Harper. However, none of the actors whose names have been tossed around have admitted
to speaking to the studio about roles -- although Kohli, at least, has openly campaigned for
the role -- and Marvel hasn't released any information about casting.
That said, the studio is laying the groundwork for the Fantastic Four's arrival. We met a
variant of Kang the Conquerer in the "Loki" finale, although he was introduced in that
episode only as He Who Remains. As comic fans know, Kang is commonly thought to be a descendent
or relative of Reed Richards. Kang is already set to appear — under his true name this
time — in "Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania."
In the meantime, while you wait for the Fantastic Four to make their arrival in the MCU, and
for the 2005 film to return to Disney+ you can still rewatch "Rise of the Silver Surfer''
anytime you want.
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