As the Marvel Cinematic Universe approaches its 20th anniversary, the Fantastic Four is finally debuting within this continually-expanding mythology (not counting John Krasinski’s appearance as Mister Fantastic in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness). Among the things we know about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is one of three upcoming Marvel movies slotted on the 2025 release schedule, is that the starring characters will live in a different universe rather than the main MCU reality. That said, the Fantastic Four will also appear in the next two Avengers movies, and I’m sold on how Marvel’s First Family will allegedly get involved in The Multiverse Saga’s finale.
A new rumor from MyTimeToShineHello (via ComicBookMovie) claims that Franklin Richards, the son of Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, will have the ability to travel between universe thanks to his reality-warping powers, which hail from the comics. Take this information with a grain of salt for now, but if it’s accurate, that would explain how the team would be thrust into the action taking place in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. It was confirmed that Reed, Sue, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm and Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm would appear in these Avengers movies at last summer’s San Diego Comic-Con, the same place where it was announced that Robert Downey Jr. will play Doctor Doom.
Admittedly, there’s always the possibility that the Fantastic Four could be transported to the main MCU reality through means out of their control, but I like the idea of Franklin Richards taking them around the multiverse instead. It’s also worth mentioning that back in August, it was rumored that Ralph Ineson’s Galactus sends Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer to Earth and demands that Reed and Sue give up their son, or their world would be destroyed (something I’ve feared will happen). Rather than simply show up to devour that universe’s Earth, I’m intrigued by the notion that Galactus would want Franklin Richards to open up the multiverse to him so he can consume countless worlds.
This would also give Franklin Richards something in common with America Chavez, as she demonstrated her ability to make multiverse portals in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. But with Franklin capable of doing more with his reality-warping, I can’t help but wonder if he’ll be the key to stopping whatever machinations Doctor Doom will carry out in Doomsday and Secret Wars. If these movies are anything like the 2015 Secret Wars storyline, then Doom will reshape the multiverse into his image, and maybe Franklin will be the only one who can reverse the damage.
Remember though, Franklin Richards’ inclusion in The Fantastic Four: The First Steps hasn’t been officially confirmed, and we may not know once way or the other until the movie is released on July 25, 2025. However, if we are getting the boy, then I look forward to seeing how he plays into the events of Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars on May 1, 2026 and May 7, 2027, respectively.
