The Fantastic Four are finally coming to the Marvel Cinematic Universe! They were announced years ago, and there have been casting rumors ever since. Welp, Marvel took the reins and revealed everything in a pretty awesome Valentine’s Day post last week. We’ve got actors, costumes and a whole 1960s vibe.

Personally, I was against the idea of setting the new Fantastic Four movie in the 1960s. I still think it’s more than possible to come up with some reason why the team can fit in the modern day MCU. But now that I see that artwork and its whole vibe, I am 100% on board with whatever Marvel has planned. I trust in Marvel Studios. I’m still a big fan of everything they’re putting out. I know they will do right by the Fantastic Four on the big screen now that they can. But I still have some ideas of my own!

Join me after the jump for what I’d like to see in Marvel’s The Fantastic Four! And feel free to share your own hopes, dreams and thoughts in the comments below.

6. Not an origin movie

We don’t need another origin story movie for the Fantastic Four. We’ve done it twice already, and there’s just no need. People get it. And if they don’t get it, you can always do a flashback or a quick exposition dump. There’s nothing so amazing about their origin that it needs to be incorporated into the actual movie. Start with an already established team, an already established Fantastic Four and go from there because then the sky is the limit.

5. Happy-ish family

Obviously drama will and should occur in the movie, and family drama is at the heart of the Fantastic Four. But I would like them to be a largely happy and functional family. No need for excessive relationship drama between Reed and Sue. Have them be happily married. They look so cute together in that promotional image, and I’d like to see that sort of attitude instead of too much butting heads.

4. Full Ruler of Latveria Doctor Doom

We don’t yet know if Doctor Doom is going to be in this first movie. He was the villain of all three prior Fantastic Four movies, and he’s one of the best, most interesting villains in all of comics. Marvel Studios can really knock it out of the park with Doom. And if I had my say, Doctor Doom would already be established as the ironclad ruler of the European nation of Latveria. We’ve never seen that in the movies before. He doesn’t need powers and he doesn’t need to be connected to the Four’s origin. Let him be his own thing, in all his dictator glory. The MCU has its own corner for political stories, including the Nation of Wakanda. Doom would be an amazing addition to that world, in all his great glory.

3. Keep the casual outfits

I love Reed and Sue’s Fantastic Four uniforms in that preview picture. I love how they look like speed suits from The Venture Bros. crossed with sweaters. I love that it’s not some complex, modern superhero costume like John Krasinski wore as Reed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. So I would love for the movie to actually use costumes like that, this casual, science lab sort of look. It would be cool as heck!

Also, while we’re on the topic, don’t address the John Krasinski thing. Don’t go into the multiverse with this movie. Let it be it’s own little thing.

2. Galactus by way of Life Story

Along with Doctor Doom, the other obvious villain for the film is Galactus. And why not? Galactus is a great character in comics, and if he’s actually done right, he could be a great addition to the MCU. He’s going to happen eventually, one hopes. And in my opinion, I think Marvel Studios should take inspiration from the recent Fantastic Four: Life Story comic. That’s the comic where the characters debut in the 1960s and then they age in real time, with each issue tackling another decade. That handles Galactus amazingly, as this menacing force that Reed just happens to glimpse in the cosmos during their origin, and then he spends the rest of his life trying to prepare the people of Earth to stop Galactus. He’s this larger-than-existence, all-devouring being, with full-on comic look, as you can see in the picture I posted above. I think that should be the inspiration for doing Galactus instead of just repeating the Rise of the Silver Surfer movie.

1. I have no idea how to connect it to the modern age

Originally, I wanted the Fantastic Four to appear in the modern day MCU. I thought it could work without much trouble. But now I’m fully on board with the 1960s vibe, and would love to see a movie set entirely in the 1960s. But if they do that…how does Marvel connect the F4 to the rest of the movies? That connection is the whole thing! Do the Four somehow get stuck in time, like Captain America, and wake up in the present day? Do they travel through a portal to the MCU reality, but then leave behind all their friends and loved ones? I have no idea how Marvel can unite a 1960s Fantastic Four with a 2020s MCU, and I’m not sure I want to see what, if anything, they come up with.

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