Alternate Timeline: The FF rights revert back to Marvel in 2015. What happens next?

Assume Fox fails to make a Fantastic Four movie by 2015. As a result of Fox's failure to get a film out in time, the rights revert back to Marvel. What happens next?

Would they try to work them into phase 3 or something? Where/when would they even insert them? Would they skip the origin like Spider-Man and have them be preestablished? I'm pretty sure it'd be harder since they're way more out in the open than Parker.

The only other major character whose rights expired and reverted back to the studio naturally was Daredevil in 2013 iirc, and they just tossed the rights to Netflix since he didn't fit their plans. Obviously they couldn't do that with the FF so would they just shelve them until they found a time/place to use them? They didn't plan for this like they did with Spider-Man and the Sony deal.

The franchise would also probably be in better shape reputation-wise than it was when the Fox merger happened in our timeline since this would be a Fant4stic-less world.

How different would this reboot be from First Steps?

Commentaires

cyclopswashalfright2025-10-06 16:14

The Fantastic Four comics continue after Secret Wars, likely with an A+ creative team in preparation for the movie adaptation.

I think they probably add the Fantastic Four into Avengers Endgame as a team that formed during the 5 year time jump, and Reed builds the time machine.

Spider-Man and Fantastic Four are the first movies after Endgame, and the MCU looks a fair bit different now than it did, with at least 2 Fantastic Four movies being out by now. There might never have been a Kang Dynasty movie at all, they might have tried to do Doomsday and Secret Wars all along, and had a lot more time to build up to it.

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 16:21

I feel like they wouldn’t want to insert the FF into a prominent role in Endgame.

That movie was meant to focus on the 2012 Avengers line-up. That’s probably why they avoided using Captain Marvel too heavily.

They wouldn’t want to shift the focus away from the Avengers to spend time setting up four brand new characters.

eBICgamer20102025-10-06 16:28

Not a prominent role, but if they replaced Captain Marvel's slot at the end of Phase 3 there's an interesting enough story to tell there.

There's a five-year period worth of story there to tell and putting a team known for optimism in a world full of pessimism (because of Thanos' genocide) could have worked. It could have stolen Superman's lunch there and be the reason why the Blip didn't result in total societal collapse, and why Tony and Nebula made it back to Earth.

cyclopswashalfright2025-10-06 16:29

But they did use Captain Marvel. I don't think they would need any focus at all, just introduce them as a ready made team who have been functioning and keeping the world alive since the snap, and they build them a time machine and that's it. Maybe 10 minutes of screen time total, and saves us from the techno babble between Tony and Bruce in the movie in building the time machine.

ubutterscotchpine2025-10-06 17:41

Yeah, tbh the only reason they didn’t use Captain Marvel more prominently wasn’t because they wanted to focus on the OG Avengers, but because the fight would’ve been over in two seconds lol. The only reason why they had her roll into the battle so late.

Elfhoe2025-10-06 16:52

Tbh i’m glad they didnt. Infinity war/endgame were masterworks as they are. It may have improved the multiverse saga though. An earlier F4 movie could have given the franchise better direction post Endgame.

michael-clarke2025-10-06 16:16

I'd say they probably would've turned up pretty soon in Phase Four and, as had been rumoured for the longest time, be the new tenants of the recently sold Avengers Towers in New York City.

I'd say First Steps played out the way it did because at that point the films had already leaned heavily into the Multiverse. Had they been brought in earlier they'd have been shoe-horned into 'our' MCU in a different way.

Grootfan852025-10-06 16:25

They are the ones Fury contacts at the post credit scene of Infinity War.

Ericandabear2025-10-06 16:25

Hot take, I dont think they'd have shown up until after Endgame.

I think Marvel would still want to do it the right way, and this would mean they have 4 years to fit them into the plan. Remember at this time an Inhumans movie was planned between Infinity War and Endgame, so maybe they would've replaced Captain Marvel and been in Endgame.

Instead I think its more likely they replace Eternals and probably Phase 4 is better for it. I still think Eternals was great and necessary but F4 in the right spot would have been the "all-new" vibe people wanted.

ChildofObama2025-10-06 16:28

Disney determines with the budget F4 would likely require, they should wait until GOTG has a complete trilogy first

Focus on their existing cosmic team for now.

ChildofObama2025-10-06 16:32

Since they seem adamant on this “Avengers movies as saga enders” idea,

if they had gotten access to F4 sooner, maybe they would’ve pondered F4 replacing filler Avengers movies from Phase 4 onward.

ao01_design2025-10-06 16:35

Who's the artist from the picture ?

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 16:37

Mike Wieringo. The panel is from FF #511.

ao01_design2025-10-06 16:38

Thanx a lot. I like this style.

matty_nice2025-10-06 16:36

Good bye Ant-Man and the Wasp Phase 3.

I think they figure out how to get the F4 into Phase 3. Really just a question of where.

The July film after Infinity War would make a lot of sense. Because of the proximity to the film, it could probably make a billion.

Narratively, it probably would not make sense to do the 5 year blip.

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 16:45

I imagine that Scott would just remain with Cap, Widow, and Falcon after Civil War for simplicity sake.

matty_nice2025-10-06 16:59

That's a fun rabbit hole to go down.

Scott, Hope, and Hank go with Team Cap.

Train station scene introduces us to Hope as the Wasp.

Supergiant is also a member of The Children of Thanos. So Scott and Hope can fight her.

Ant-Man 2 happens after Endgame and involves the search for Janet in the Quantum Realm.

BiscuitsAndMilk02025-10-06 16:39

I think at most they might have included Silver Surfer in Infinity War

WakandaNowAndThen2025-10-06 16:48

If the rights had reverted in 2015, they wouldn't have been able to have a movie out until 2018 at the earliest. My thought, it replaces Captain Marvel both in schedule and plot.

Western-Chart-67192025-10-06 17:07

If Marvel got the FF rights in 2015, they’d probably save them for after Endgame. Phase 3 was full, so maybe just a quick Baxter Building tease. By Phase 4 they’d skip the origin and bring them back as heroes lost in the Negative Zone who reappear after the Blip.

AVtechN1CK2025-10-06 17:50

They are revealed to be the ones who bought the Avengers Tower, but around the events of Endgame they're just regular people working on revolutionary space travel technology.

First movie (released after Avengers: Endgame) is the another origin story that plays out like the previous films with Fantastic Four flying to space and getting used to their powers.

It's sequel delves into the Multiverse and serves like a proper introduction to the concept of the Multiverse (instead of Loki).

Between the events of the movie a certain someone comes to power in the rebuilt Sokovia and after elections the country is renamed into Latveria.

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 18:07

Imo it would make more sense to use the Fant4stic/1610 FF origin, but with their 616 ages and personalities.

Their origin being tied to the discovery of a parallel dimension, like the Negative Zone, would probably better segue into the multiverse stuff in a sequel.

I also just think the idea of them stealing the transporter is a really clever modern reinterpretation of their 60s origin of stealing a spaceship, and It’s unfortunate that it was wasted on Fant4stic.

staq162025-10-06 18:06

I think they’d have replaced Captain Marvel to some extent.

The FF get introduced in a 60s flashback movie which ends with them going off to the quantum realm for reasons.

Ant-Man encounters them there and they get him back, arriving to join Endgame. Quantum time travel is far more Reed Richards weirdness than Stark’s style.

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 18:14

Again, I doubt they would want to use them in any substantial way in Endgame. That movie was meant to focus on the original 2012 Avengers line-up, which is probably why they avoided using Captain Marvel for most of it.

justinleona2025-10-06 18:19

Probably the same thing as the last time you posted this: [https://www.reddit.com/r/FantasticFour/comments/1ndt7rn/alternate\_timeline\_the\_ff\_rights\_revert\_back\_to/](https://www.reddit.com/r/FantasticFour/comments/1ndt7rn/alternate_timeline_the_ff_rights_revert_back_to/)

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 18:21

Idk man, I figured it would be more interesting to ask the Marvel Studios sub this question. Sorry IG.

icorrectpettydetails2025-10-06 20:18

In a completely different subreddit.

Few_Mixture_84122025-10-06 18:29

Possibly buying the avengers tower.
in Homecoming everyone tried to predict who bought the tower and in FFH after the FF rights revert back to marvel we saw bits of the tower and some people theorized it was Reed Richards buying the building and if they had the rights to the FF in 2015 I think they would do it

NotACatWithAccordion2025-10-06 18:30

Why doesn't Sue have a nose?

ContentAssumption2042025-10-06 18:40

Idk, maybe she made it invisible 🤷‍♂️.

Pale_Selection_32682025-10-06 18:38

They go looking for Hank and Janet. Find Scott and Reed finds a way to the quantum realm with the help of a Kang variant. Silver surfer comes to announce to earth about Galactus while ultron/vision are born.

r01-85062025-10-06 20:05

* Galactus likely becomes the big bad then instead of Kang.
* Perhaps a Thing vs Hulk movie (set on Earth).

Samantha_Cruz2025-10-07 00:06

Pizza? screw that... they should get shawarma instead

therealmonkyking2025-10-07 01:07

The multiverse saga doesn't happen (or if it does, Doom is the main villain from the getgo) and instead of the "Where are the Avengers?" Plot thread gets replaced by the F4 becoming the new famous hero group. NWH might also be replaced with an entirely different Spider-Man 3 where he teams up with the Fantastic Four

Ivan_Redditor2025-10-07 05:17

It probably would’ve replaced the Inhumans movie.

As for plot, it might be an origin story set after CW with Mole Man as the villain.

Much like Spider-Man, Marvel probably would’ve hyped them up as the next faces of Marvel after Iron Man and Cap.

Josh-sama2025-10-08 00:39

They initial snap by Thanos causes them to be ejected out of the cosmic force they got trapped in, in the 60s and they play a part in tracking Thanos after his second snap

yv_sharma_2025-10-08 12:58

They would've gotten their powers from the quantum realm instead of space and the whole Antman story line would've been theirs. Could've gone like this: they existed in the 70s with Reed as SHIELD's founding member, much like Hank Pym. And like Wasp gets lost in the quantum realm, the whole 4 get lost there and eventually gets forgotten since no one can figure out the rules of the quantum realm. Then during the 5 year gap after Infinity War, they return, blame the snap for a cosmic anomaly. They come out, instead of Lang going to the Avengers, it is the 4 and so on. Instead of Captain Marvel movie, we get F4 with similar old school setting. Or we could've gotten both.