Marvel's Fantastic Four movie will start filming in July – and it'll be a period piece, Kevin Feige confirms

A screenshot of The Fantastic 4 poster showing the iconic Marvel superhero quartet and the actors playing them
Marvel's The Fantastic 4 will start filming the day after San Diego Comic Con 2024. (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

Marvel boss Kevin Feige has confirmed The Fantastic 4 will begin filming in July – and, as we all predicted, it won't be set in the modern day.

Speaking on the first episode of the Official Marvel Podcast (as spotted by GamesRadar), the comic book giant's president announced the highly anticipated superhero movie will start shooting late next month. Indeed, principal photography will start on the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) movie on July 29, the day after San Diego Comic Con 2024 ends.

"We start shooting at the end of July," Feige revealed. "The day after Comic-Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four."

Mahershala Ali and Kevin Feige pose for photographs at Comic-Con 2019

Kevin Feige (right) has confirmed The Fantastic 4 will be a period piece. (Image credit: Albert L. Ortega/Getty Images)

That wasn't the only thing that Feige confirmed about the Fantastic Four's next big-screen adventure. As mentioned, the studio's commander-in-chief added that the Marvel Phase 5 flick won't be set in the present – something fans have speculated on ever since The Fantastic 4's first poster was released on February 14. That theory gained more traction upon the release of another piece of artwork on April 4, which teased some key Fantastic Four story details and all but confirmed its villain.

"Yes, yes, very much so. It is a period," Feige admitted. "There were a lot of smart people, who noticed that that cityscape didn't look exactly like the New York that we know, or that existed in the '60s in our world. Those are smart observations, I'll say."

More Fantastic (Four) developments

A screenshot of the official artwork for Marvel Studios' The Fantastic 4 movie

The Fantastic 4 is expected to arrive in cinemas worldwide in July 2025. (Image credit: Marvel Studios)

We're only a year away (give or take) before The Fantastic 4 lands in theaters, so it's high time that an official production start date and actual setting were confirmed. Still, while we've had to wait a number of months for those announcements to be made, there's been a slow trickle of other crowd-pleasing developments to further whet our appetites for its arrival.

Just last month (May 16), Marvel's Fantastic Four movie reportedly added Natasha Lyonne to its cast, with many fans thinking she'd be perfect for one specific role. Lyonne's hiring followed hot on the heels of Ralph Ineson's casting as the film's big bad Galactus, plus the addition of John Malkovich in an undisclosed role, on May 10. 

That duo were announced three months after The Fantastic 4's iconic quartet were officially revealed alongside the aforementioned first posted on Valentine's Day – those individuals being Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing), and Joseph Quinn (The Human Torch). Julian Garner (The Silver Surfer) and Paul Walter Hauser (TBC) are also reportedly involved.

Matt Shakman, who directed multiple episodes of WandaVision, one of the best Disney Plus shows, is on filmmaking duties. Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Josh Friedman, and Eric Pearson have all contributed to its script.

The Fantastic 4 will debut in theaters worldwide on July 25, 2025. In the meantime, US viewers can watch the superteam's 2005 and 2007 films on Disney Plus, and 2015's Fantastic Four on Max. UK and Australian audiences can watch all three of the group's outings on Disney Plus, aka one of the world's best streaming services.

You might also like

TOPICS
Senior Entertainment Reporter

As TechRadar's senior entertainment reporter, Tom covers all of the latest movies, TV shows, and streaming service news that you need to know about. You'll regularly find him writing about the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Star Wars, Netflix, Prime Video, Disney Plus, and many other topics of interest.

An NCTJ-accredited journalist, Tom also writes reviews, analytical articles, opinion pieces, and interview-led features on the biggest franchises, actors, directors and other industry leaders. You may see his quotes pop up in the odd official Marvel Studios video, too, such as this Moon Knight TV spot.

Away from work, Tom can be found checking out the latest video games, immersing himself in his favorite sporting pastime of football, reading the many unread books on his shelf, staying fit at the gym, and petting every dog he comes across. Got a scoop, interesting story, or an intriguing angle on the latest news in entertainment? Feel free to drop him a line.