Comic book fans have a wild theory about upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe entry The Fantastic Four: that it's not in the MCU at all.
Marvel shared a new poster for the film on April 4 celebrating "4-4" day. It shows the Human Torch flying through the sky and carving out the number four in flames. It doesn't give away much at first glance, but internet sleuths have already analysed the image for hidden meanings.
Perhaps the biggest clue is in the skyline, which can be seen in the bottom right corner. The Fantastic Four's base of operations is in New York City, which has already been seen in myriad MCU movies like Avengers: Infinity War, and it looks a lot different from what can be seen here.
Instead of being the real world New York depicted so far, however, the buildings are all of a retrofuturism design, which has fans thinking this isn't the MCU we're familiar with. Partnered with the expectation this film will be set in the 1960s (thanks to the initial poster reveal), and its entire style seems separate to most of what Marvel has created so far.
"Most" is the key word, of course, as the MCU's divergence into multiverse storylines means practically everything is on the table, and even films that aren't in the MCU now sort of are (like Tobey Maguire's Spider-Man trilogy, for example).
"Look at the New York in the background. It's definitely a different universe than [main MCU universe] 616 and it explains why Reed will be so technologically advanced while being from the 60s," said Colonel_PingPong on Reddit.
"The retrofuturistic New York City skyline basically confirms that this isn't set in the MCU, just like the Valentine's Day poster confirmed that the series is set in the 60s with the magazine and the general aesthetic," agreed KostisPat257. "I'm loving how we're getting to learn more about the movie through these small Easter eggs in these posters."
Marvel also gave away five Fantastic Four comics to celebrate April 4, all of which are related to a certain big baddie: Galactus. The main villain of the film is yet to be confirmed (though Julia Garner was cast as Silver Surfer) but this tease from Marvel certainly suggests the planet consuming Galactus is also involved somehow.
This would also act as an opportunity for the MCU to transition away from its Kang the Conqueror storyline after actor Jonathan Majors was found guilty of assault and harassment and Marvel swiftly cut ties.
The Fantastic Four otherwise stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mr Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm (the Invisible Woman), Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing), and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (the Human Torch). Little else is known about the film, though Marvel currently has it pegged for a July 25, 2025 premiere.
Ryan Dinsdale is an IGN freelance reporter. He'll talk about The Witcher all day.
