5 Huge Things Marvel's Fantastic Four Cast Reveal Image Tells Us
It was a very happy Valentine's Day for fans of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Marvel Studios officially unveiled the Fantastic Four reboot cast. For months, it's been reported that Pedro Pascal will suit up as Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic. Now, we know the rest of the crew will see Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (the Thing). Knowing the cast is one thing, but the announcement came with some lovely artwork of the team at home, containing possible hints of what to expect.
First things first, on X, formerly known as Twitter, the Marvel Studios account revealed the release date: "Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour, in theaters July 25, 2025." This means the movie has swapped places with another MCU project — "Thunderbolts." "Fantastic Four" was initially slated to come out May 2, 2025, but that spot's now occupied by "Thunderbolts." It will be a summer of Marvel, and a new release date isn't the only thing to notice.
We have our first looks for The Thing and HERBIE
The artwork depicts the respective actors' heads on top of their characters' designs. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and Joseph Quinn are all easy to spot, wearing matching blue Fantastic Four uniforms. That leads us to Ben Grimm. It would be hard to put Ebon Moss-Bachrach's head on a rock body, but he's still represented thanks to his astronaut portrait on the wall. This references the team's Space Race era origins from the 1960s.
Regarding the Thing's design, he has the hero's typical orange rock body, but he's fully dressed in pants and a comfortable-looking sweater. This suggests the MCU's Thing will be decidedly more clothed than previous cinematic outings. Michael Chiklis' version from 2005 only wears pants for the most part, while Jamie Bell's iteration from 2015's "Fant4stic" doesn't wear anything.
The artwork also features HERBIE, the team's trusted robot companion, who's been around since the 1978 cartoon"The New Fantastic Four" — one of the more bizarre Marvel TV series to come out. It's not inherently confirmation that HERBIE will be in the movie, as it could simply be a fun inclusion for fans. But it seems like a safe bet the robot will appear in the MCU, especially since the film appears to draw a great deal of influence from Stan Lee and Jack Kirby's take on the characters.
There are several nods to the 1960s in the Fantastic Four announcement
The artwork may not indicate what we'll see in "Fantastic Four" outside of who's playing the main characters, but given the sheer level of "1960s-ness" in the image, the movie could be set during that period. Their outfits are incredibly retro, and the magazine the Thing is reading is an Easter egg. It's a tad blurry, but it appears to be the December 13, 1963, issue of Life Magazine. On the cover is an image of President Lyndon B. Johnson standing over his desk.
It's also worth noting the retro styling of "The Fantastic Four" title at the bottom of the image. That's in addition to the rendering of the Marvel Studios logo, with the word "Marvel" recognizable to anyone who's a fan of Pacific's Cinerama Dome in Los Angeles. Each letter gets its own square, and it's worth noting the Cinerama Dome first opened its doors to the public on November 7, 1963. That's just a month before the President Johnson issue of Life, so this all seems to suggest a throwback outing within the MCU.