As it moves into Phase 3, the Marvel Cinematic Universe is managing a fine balance between new and established heroes; along with sequels to some of its biggest hits like Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and Thor: Ragnarok (as well as mega team-up Avengers: Infinity War) there are also debut standalone for newly introduced heroes like Black Panther (first seen in Captain America: Civil War) and Captain Marvel on the horizon.
That's a lot of characters incoming, but nothing on the scale of the Marvel comics universe, which offers enough characters and stories to keep the movie arm in business for decades. Everyone has their personal favorite who they'd like to be the next to make the leap from the page to the screen, and it seems the same is true of the people who've brought the massive franchise to life.
While speaking exclusively to Screen Rant, Doctor Strange Scott Derrickson revealed that the Marvel icon he'd like to see appear in the MCU next is one a lot of fans have been clamoring for - the Fantastic Four:
"I mean, there's a lot of discussion about Moon Knight maybe coming into the MCU. I think that's a good idea. I dunno... Actually, scratch that answer. Here's my answer. My answer is this: I still have hope that Fantastic Four can be properly brought into the MCU because a lot of Doctor Strange - that's the comment I read the most during that. I love those characters and I think that they still deserve another shot at finding a true home in the MCU. I still have hope for that. That's my honest answer."
The Fantastic Four joining the MCU isn't as simple as producer Kevin Feige simply deciding to make a movie with the First Family. The rights to the characters have been with Fox since the 1990s and as long as they keep making movies involving the group, will remain there indefinitely. After the failure of Josh Trank's Fantastic Four in 2015, however, many have been calling for the rights to revert to Marvel (a la Daredevil) or be shared (as Sony are doing with Spider-Man) to allow Reed Richards and co get a definitive MCU take.
Unlike other characters Marvel doesn't have the rights to, the Fantastic Four would be rather easy to integrate into the world as it is; their powers come from intergalactic travel (the specifics vary between stories), which is logical within the MCU as currently defined. Of course, to do it right, it would be best to embrace the weirder and space-focused elements that the previous film iterations have ignored thus far, which is something the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy and Derrickson's own Doctor Strange have already introduced audiences to.
The director also mentioned Moon Knight, who has been a recurring fan favorite to appear in the MCU, especially after he was potentially referenced in Captain America: The Winter Soldier as one of the persons of interest picked up by Zola's algorithm. Often likened to Batman due to his similar vigilante approach, Marc Spector would be harder to faithfully bring across to the usually PG-13 movies, but could be a candidate for exploration on Netflix (something that was rumored last year).
More: What If The Fantastic Four Was Cast In The Marvel Cinematic Universe?
Source: Screen Rant
