Marvel’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Is a 1960s Period Piece in New York City, Confirms Kevin Feige — But It’s Probably Not the NYC From Our World

Comic book movie fans have more or less assumed that Marvel’s upcoming “The Fantastic Four” will be a 1960s-set superhero story thanks to the illustrated posters the studio has put out on social media. Now that fact is being confirmed by Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige. Speaking on “The Official Marvel Podcast” (via EW), Feige revealed “The Fantastic Four” will be a period piece set in New York City. However, it’s probably not the New York City many are familiar with.

“There was another piece of art we released with Johnny Storm flying in the air making a 4 symbol and there was a cityscape in the corner of that image,” Feige said. “There were a lot of smart people who noticed that that cityscape didn’t look exactly like the New York that we know, or the New York that existed in the ‘60s in our world. Those are smart observations, I’ll say.”

The superhero quartet in Marvel’s “The Fantastic Four” — the first characters created for Marvel Comics by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby — will be played by Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). The cast also includes Ralph Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne and Julia Garner.

Matt Shakman (“WandaVision,” “Monarch: Legacy of Monsters”) is directing “Fantastic Four” from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer.

Quinn recently said in an interview with Entertainment Weekly that “with the story of the Fantastic Four, it feels like we want to get this right,” adding: “There are aspects of it that are very different to other Marvel films. That felt very compelling to me. And again, going back to who’s involved, Matt [Shakman], of course, the director, I think is brilliant, and the cast, and I’ve read it, and the script is brilliant. It’s really brilliant. I’m delighted to have this opportunity.”

“Superhero movies are movies about people,” he continued. “And if we’re invested in the people and the characters and the peril and the spectacle, then that’s why people go to the theaters to watch films. We’re not just in a penny; we’re in for a pound with this one. We’re going to go for it.” 

“The Fantastic Four” is set for release in theaters on July 25, 2025. Production will kick off later this year.