Summary
The Marvel Cinematic Universe’sTheFantastic Fourfilm might still be quite a long way ahead, but one of the movie’s stars has already gotten a strong head start on one of their character’s most important assets ahead of what could be the next nexus of the MCU.
TheFantastic Fourhas been one of the most important parts of Marvel Comics since the group’s inception, earning the moniker of Marvel’s first family pretty early on. While Marvel Studios and the MCU’s inception came at a time when the rights for the superteam and other related characters were held by Fox, that has since been remedied by the Disney acquisitions machine and now the team is finally ready to debut in the MCU. While there have beentons of Marvel heroes in the Fantastic Fourbesides the founding members, many of who have already appeared in the MCU, the upcoming project is set to focus on the traditional lineup of “Mr Fantastic” Reed Richards, “The Thing” Ben Grimm, “The Invisible Woman” Susan Storm, and her fiery brother Johnny, The Human Torch.
While severalactors could have been chosen to play Johnny Stormin the upcoming film, the part eventually went toStranger Thingsstar Joseph Quinn, and the actor certainly has his priorities set straight. Appearing on an episode of theHappy Sad Confusedpodcast uploaded toJosh Horowitz’s YouTube recently, Quinn was asked about his preparation for the role and he revealed that he’d spent about an hour in cumulative practice time on Johnny’s signature catchphrase, “Flame On!” While this might not strike fans as a long time to practice, it seems more than sufficient considering how short and sweet the phrase is. Taking into account Johnny’s often hotheaded and impatient personality and how often the line is delivered in tense situations, Quinn’s hour of practice probably comes out to thousands of attempts.
While the MCU has been in the cultural zeitgeist for a long while now, there’s certainly been a noticeable slump in the product in the past year or two, both from a creative lens and gauging from fan interest. There’s little wonder thatthe reveal of theFantastic Fourcasting alongsideDeadpool 3’s trailerhas been the MCU’s highest point recently, and a good chunk of that fanfare likely comes from the fresh nature of both projects. While theDeadpoolfranchise is on its third iteration, this is the first of the projects to take place within the MCU and has the benefit of that audience’s goodwill to ride on. Likewise, the Fantastic Four are entering the MCU with at least one fondly remembered adaptation from outside the Marvel Studios franchise, and little things like Quinn nailing the character’s iconic catchphrase could go a long way in truly capturing new fans while thrilling older ones.
The widespread appeal ofDeadpool & Wolverineseems like it might be able to spread to theFantastic Fourfilm, which willtake inspiration for the reboot from classic sitcom stylingsand potentially even maintain its independence from the wider franchise for a time. Fans can only wait and see how things pan out with the Fantastic Four, but Quinn has certainly shown a bit of the right stuff for the role.
The Fantastic Fouris currently set for theatrical release on July 07, 2025.
