This past Thursday was a big day when it comes to revealing new things to know about The Fantastic Four. First, it was reported that John Malkovich has been cast in a mystery role in the upcoming Marvel movie, and our own Eric Eisenberg is hopeful he’s playing Spider-Man villain Vulture. The bigger piece of news, however, was that Ralph Ineson has been cast as Galactus, a cosmic entity that consumes planets to stay alive.
This will be the second time Galactus has appeared in a Fantastic Four movie, the first being in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, albeit only looking as a cosmic hurricane cloud. My guess, though, is that Ineson’s Galactus will play a more prominent role in The Fantastic Four. Quite frankly, now that this casting is official since Ineson confirmed it, I’m bracing for the Marvel movie to end on a tragic note.
The Fantastic Four Looks Like It Takes Place In Another Universe
Although there’s been plenty of casting news shared over the last several months, plot-wise, we still don’t really know what to expect from The Fantastic Four. However, a major rumor was seemingly confirmed with the release of a poster highlighting Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm/The Human Torch: this movie will take place in another universe.
While the announcement of The Fantastic Four’s core cast led many to assume that it will be set in the 1960s, if you look closely at the Human Torch poster, you’ll notice that the New York City buildings Johnny is flying in front of architecturally looks a lot different than the ones in real life/the main MCU reality. So since we’re in the middle of The Multiverse Saga, and projects like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Loki have played around with other universes/realities, there’s a strong chance that The Fantastic Four could tale place elsewhere in the Marvel multiverse too, though that doesn’t mean we should rule out a 1960s setting either.
What If Galactus Destroys The Fantastic Four’s Earth?
If The Fantastic Four’s title heroes do indeed live on a different Earth, and logically assuming this team has a bright future ahead of them in the MCU franchise, then I’m extremely worried that by the time this movie’s done, their Earth will be no more. It’d be one thing if the Fantastic Four were living on the same Earth that nearly all of this franchise’s projects take place in, because then we could rule out Galactus consuming the planet. But with another universe, its Earth could more easily be disposable.
My rationale for thinking this is the belief that the Fantastic Four will permanently relocate to the main MCU reality. Sure, they could just commute between universes, or maybe they decide to change where they live without being prompted by such devastation. But if The Fantastic Four is looking to distinguish itself from its predecessors, and to show the stakes involved with The Multiverse Saga, just imagine how shocking it would be if Reed, Sue, Ben and Johnny having to watch their world be destroyed by one of the most powerful beings in existence, and then shortly thereafter be transported to an Earth that resembles theirs in some ways, but is drastically different in others.
The main problem with this theory is that it couldn’t just be the Fantastic Four who shift universes; they’d also need to be accompanied by Doctor Doom, Silver Surfer (whom Julia Garner is reportedly playing) and other characters tied to the team, Hell, maybe even Galactus is also hauled along for the ride after gorging on this Earth. It could be convoluted to transport so many characters, but hey, Thor: Raganrok saw the Asgardians being evacuated before Surtur destroyed their home, so it wouldn’t be unfeasible.
Maybe I’ve just taken my mind to too dark a place, and The Fantastic Four will have a happy ending with no Earths being eaten by Galactus. We’ll know for sure once the movies comes out on July 25, 2025. Until then, revisit nearly all past MCU projects with a Disney+ subscription.