With half of the Avengers retired or lost during service and several projects that never got off the ground, the two new axes on which the Marvel Studios empire will revolve are the X-Men and The Fantastic Four. This summer Deadpool will drag the mutants to the MCU from who knows where, but he will have to wait until 2025 to see the First Family of Superheroes… And this one does not stop growing: without prior notice, the unrepeatable John Malkovich joins the project.
Malkovich making Superhero movies? Believe it or not, he already appeared in a film saga based on DC comics playing Marvin Boggs in Red. But it doesn’t end there since in 2009 it was confirmed by Sam Raimi himself that his plan was for Malkovich to play the Vulture in the never-filmed Spider-Man 4
The signing of the villain Con Air or the epicenter of the movie How to be John Malkovich has been confirmed from Deadline, but Marvel has intentionally not wanted to reveal his role. Basically, because they know comic book lovers very well and they want to leave cards in their hands. That said, and with the four titular protagonists already assigned, there are still interesting characters to be assigned who would benefit very well from Malkovich’s talent.
Herbie, left, serving a cup to Ben Grimm
- To begin with, and based on the first official illustration of the film, we have: H.E.R.B.I.E., a robotic helper to the first family who originally debuted on television and ended up making the jump to comics. For reference, Malkovich lent his voice to animated characters in films such as The Penguins of Madagascar and even played Oz in Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare.
Galactus illustration for Marvel Snap
- The other bet that, without being safe, would make a lot of sense is that of Galactus. Actress Julia Garner will play Shalla-Bal, who is a variant of the Silver Surfer (or Silver Wake) and traditionally this character has been a herald of the world-eater himself. And we are not going to fool ourselves, taking into account the size of this one, it is just as likely that it will rely on the experience of whoever interprets it in front of the lecterns and microphones.
Dr. Doom, art by Artgerm for Marvel Snap
- Finally, it is worth remembering that the character of Dr. Victor Von Doom (or Doctor Doom) is not awarded. And we are not going to deny it, if Marvel wants to channel its big project into the Secret Wars, it will have to put this key piece on the board sooner rather than later.
The possibilities go far beyond these three. There are a multitude of villains, friends and personalities associated with the Richards-Storm Family ranging from a Mole Man to whom it is not appropriate to despise the terrible Molecule Man. However, we have not forgotten that Malkovich is not the only actor who has signed on for the Fantastic Four whose role has not yet been revealed: Paul Walter Hauser (Yo, Tonya o Cruella) is also involved in the project and we still don’t know if he will be wearing a superhero or criminal costume.
From here several certainties: Matt Shakman, director of Wandavisionwill be the one behind the cameras of The Fantastic Four and the film’s release is scheduled for July 25, 2025. Just a few days after the debut of James Gunn’s Superman. What summers of superheroes await us!
In iGamesNews | All the Marvel series and movies that will be released in 2024
