The Fantastic Four Already Exist In The MCU

The Fantastic Four are coming home, but there's a theory that Marvel's most famous family already exists in the MCU. More than a decade after Iron Man paved the way for the Marvel Cinematic Universe's Phase 4; the MCU can finally count on the majority of Marvel characters via the Multiverse's myriad possibilities. In addition to the 2015 agreement hashed out with Sony for Spider-Man, Disney's purchase of Fox in 2019 gave Marvel Studios access to the Fantastic Four and the X-Men properties.

In late 2020, a Fantastic Four reboot in MCU was announced with Spider-Man: Homecoming trilogy director Jon Watts helming the production. The film, however, does not yet have a date or cast announced, although this has done little to dampen rampant casting speculation online. What is certain, however, is that the long-awaited MCU's Fantastic Four will be the fourth film and the third iteration of the group since 2005, with MCU's F4 version looking to improve upon the failed 2015 reboot Fantastic Four.

The arrival of the Fantastic Four in the MCU also poses new challenges regarding how they will be integrated into Phase 4 or 5's story. For the last 14 years, the MCU has adapted some of the most important sagas from the comics without utilizing the Fantastic Four and the X-Men, with the popularity of these two groups of heroes in the comics being affected by their absence in the MCU. However, one theory posits that the Fantastic Four may already exist in the MCU – at least retroactively. According to this theory, the Fantastic Four are trapped in the Negative Zone, a parallel universe that the Fantastic 4's leader Reed Richards is always studying. If correct, this would mean that the Fantastic Four already have their powers but, agonizingly, cannot return home.

Marvel's Negative Zone Explained

Reed Richards enters the Negative Zone in Marvel Comics

In Marvel comics canon, the Negative Zone is a parallel universe formed by antimatter in which the laws of physics do not fully apply. Despite its terrifying appearance, the Negative Zone is capable of harboring lifeforms, such as the Arthosian and the Baluurians. In a way, the Negative Zone is a mirror dimension to humanity's current plane of existence, except that it is in a much more advanced contraction process and will soon cease to exist as a result.

In one of his many searches to learn more about his universe and others, Reed Richards discovered the Negative Zone. Always yearning for additional knowledge, Mr. Fantastic created and stabilized a portal that connected his world to that universe and proceeded to explore the Negative Zone. Later, Reed Richards, along with Tony Stark and Hank Pym, utilized the Negative Zone to create a high-security prison, Prison 42, which was used to keep the heroes who didn't want to register for either side during the events of Civil War. In the Earth's Mightiest Heroes animated series, something similar happened, except on a larger scale, with Prison 42 used to detain the most dangerous villains of the show.

In Marvel's Ultimate universe, the Negative Zone was called the N-Zone and was the subject of Reed's study from a very young age. It was the quest to access the N-Zone through an interdimensional portal that led to Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben teaming up under a government project and later getting in an accident that would change their lives forever. Unlike the 616 universes, therefore, it was not space travel but rather an interdimensional incident that gave powers to the Fantastic Four.

MCU's Fantastic Four Could Have Gotten Their Powers In The Negative Zone

2015's Fantastic Four stare at a big blue light in the sky

The MCU could take inspiration from the Ultimate universe, as it did for many elements in Phase 1, to explain how the Fantastic Four got their powers. Granted, 2015's critically panned Fantastic Four has already done something similar, but that doesn't mean the MCU can’t use the same concept and add its own spin on it. The classic Fantastic Four origin story of an accident during a space trip is better known to the general public due to the 2004 Fantastic Four movie, meaning that using the idea of an alternative universe and antimatter to explain the arrival of the new heroes in MCU Phase 5 could surprise a significant portion of the audience.

Bringing in the Negative Zone as the origin of the Fantastic Four's powers could also show from the start how dangerous the MCU's Reed Richards' ambition for knowledge is. While space travel was a relatively simple mission in Marvel comics canon, experimenting with parallel dimensions was a far more dangerous move by the young doctor. In this way, an origin story for the Fantastic Four in MCU Phase 5 that uses Richards' unbridled ambition would introduce audiences to an already tormented Reed Richards and could yield several interesting conflicts between Mr. Fantastic and the other three F4 heroes.

Theory: The Fantastic Four Has Been Trapped In The Negative Zone Since Before Thanos

John Krasinski Emily Blunt Fantastic Four

Since Disney acquired Fox, speculation has been rife as to how the X-Men and the Fantastic Four, two groups essential to Marvel's history, will be integrated into the MCU. While no X-Men-related project has been announced to date, audiences will have their first contact with an MCU mutant in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, with Patrick Stewart joining the franchise as Professor X.

As for the Fantastic Four, while there is a movie already announced and with a director attached, there’s still no indication of how they will be introduced into the MCU. That said, retelling the origins of the Fantastic Room and showing how they became a superhero team more than 15 years after the Avengers were formed could undermine the impact of the new characters compare to Earth's current Mightiest Heroes. Something similar happened with Spider-Man, who was still a rookie in the eyes of the other MCU heroes by the time the Infinity Saga drew to a close.

The solution to this problem would be to establish that the Fantastic Four had already been around for some time but that they could never interact with the Avengers and other MCU heroes due to being trapped in the Negative Zone since the day they gained their powers. The first MCU Fantastic Four movie could therefore be about the team trying to get back home while facing the threats of the unknown. That would set the movie apart from every other Fantastic Four adaptation and would make sure the group arrived as an experienced, respected unit when they meet other MCU heroes and villains. Finally, it's important to remember that time passes differently in the Negative Zone, which could explain the Fantastic Four's disappearance for an extended period in the MCU timeline - meaning a set of major new players can shake things up in the franchise after the end of the Infinity Saga.

Next: The MCU Still Can't Escape Thanos Even In Marvel's Phase 5