After 20th Century Fox's final attempt to revive the Fantastic Four for a feature film
failed miserably, news of Marvel Studios' plans to do their own Fantastic Four movie
was warmly received, to say the least.
And now there are rumours flying about that the team's big-screen comeback could introduce
a seriously powerful comic book character.
We Got This Covered is reporting that Disney and Marvel are considering introducing the
mighty mutant Franklin Richards to the Marvel Cinematic Universe through their forthcoming
Fantastic Four reboot.
Now, it's important to take this with a grain of salt, We Got This Covered didn't provide
really anything to substantiate this rumor, and the website has proved less than reliable
in the past.
But hey, who can resist a little Fantastic speculation every now and then?
"Flame on!"
Described by the site as "the most powerful superhero to ever appear in Marvel Comics,"
Franklin Richards is the child of the Fantastic Four's iconic couple: Sue Storm and Reed Richards.
The Richards famously developed their superhuman powers after being exposed to cosmic radiation
during a space flight expedition, but their son obtained his powers at birth.
Created by comics legends Jack Kirby and Stan Lee and first appearing in 1968's Fantastic
Four Annual Issue 6, Franklin was born after a pregnancy that nearly killed his mother.
His genetic structure is altered like his parents', meaning Franklin's superhuman powers
manifested fast and furiously.
In the vein of his fellow Omega-level mutants, Franklin's full power registers beyond any
definable limit.
In fact, his capabilities are so impressive that he's even been compared to Marvel's Celestials,
a race of humanoid aliens who came into being around the same time as the universe itself.
In the future, Franklin will actually be one of only two beings around to witness the total
end of the universe.
Franklin has been a part of so much throughout the Fantastic Four's long history in the Marvel
universe, so it's difficult to get a concrete grasp on how he would fit into the Fantastic
Four reboot.
Any number of Franklin's iterations could feature in the forthcoming flick, from his
early days in the Power Pack, a team of kids who possess superhuman powers, to his role
in the Human Torch-less Future Foundation.
And a backstory that rich could easily present a ton of headaches for Marvel Studios' creatives
as they try to figure out a way to introduce Franklin to the MCU.
Would all that effort even be worth it?
It's hard to say for sure, but this is far from the first time Franklin's been rumored
to appear in a Fantastic Four film.
In June 2017, Fox reportedly considered bringing Franklin Richards into the live-action sphere.
According to Bleeding Cool, there were rumors that Fox was eyeing a possible kid-centric
film set in the Fantastic Four universe that featured Franklin and his younger sister Valeria,
along with appearances by The Thing and the Human Torch.
Those rumors resurfaced in July 2017, around the time that it was announced that Legion
showrunner Noah Hawley had a Doctor Doom film in development.
And while Fox seemed more than happy to forget about the entire 2015 Fantastic Four reboot
debacle, it did appear that the studio was interested in mining the heroes' considerable
cinematic universe potential.
Now that Fox and Disney have merged, it's likely that Disney has scrapped Fox's previous
plans for any Fantastic Four-adjacent characters in favor of their own.
On the flip side, the studio convergence has apparently paved the way to reboot heaven,
with Disney CEO Bob Iger already confirming that Fox properties such as Home Alone and
Night at the Museum will take on a new life at Disney+.
Disney is clearly invested in expanding its family-centric narratives, and though the
Fantastic Four franchise will probably fall into line with the rest of the MCU, Franklin's
rumored arrival could open up the chance for more of a family-focused superhero team-up.
At the end of the day, though, this is all just talk.
Until Marvel comes forward with concrete information about the new Fantastic Four movie, all fans
can do is speculate on what the future might hold.
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