Is the ‘Fantastic Four’ Movie Going To Be Set in the Past?

After endless speculation, the wait is finally over as Marvel Studios released the official cast and premiere date for its upcoming Fantastic Four reboot. Rather than have an announcement video or a report, Marvel released a special poster on Valentine’s Day. Said poster showcases the Four doing what they do best: Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) is embracing his wife Sue (Vanessa Kirby) while her brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) hangs around Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), aka the Thing. What caught fans’ eyes were details that seem to suggest The Fantastic Four will take place in the 1960s.

What exactly are those details? For starters, there’s H.E.R.B.I.E. — aka Highly Engineered Robot Built for Interdimensional Exploration — the Four’s robot companion. In contrast to his usually futuristic designs, H.E.R.B.I.E. looks like the younger cousin of the Robot from Lost in Space. There’s also the magazine Ben is reading, which appears to be the issue of Life magazine with President Lyndon B. Johnson on the cover. Johnson took the presidency in 1963 at the height of the Space Race, which is important given Ben’s career as a test pilot. While the exact settings and plot details haven’t been entirely confirmed, setting the film in the 1960s could provide a wide range of storytelling opportunities.

A 1960s Setting Would Celebrate the Spirit of the Original Fantastic Four Comics

If the film is set around 1963, it would technically be taking place in the same year that the Fantastic Fourcomics were originally published. The Four’s origin is even steeped in Space Age aesthetics; Reed builds a prototype spacecraft and convinces Ben to pilot it, with Sue and Johnny along for the ride. During the flight, the ship is bombarded with cosmic radiation, forever changing the four and giving them superhuman powers. Reed stretches his body to abnormal lengths, Sue can turn invisible and project force fields, Johnny generates flame, and Ben takes on the super-strong rocky form of The Thing. Setting a Fantastic Four movie in the same age as when the comics were first set would allow director Matt Shakman to deliver a superhero period piece in the vein of X-Men: First Class — whereas First Class was more of a “James Bond with mutants,” Shakman could deliver “Star Trek with superheroes” (ironically he was even tapped to helm a Trek film before Fantastic Four.)

Matt Shakman Has Tackled Period Pieces Before With ‘WandaVision’

If Fantastic Four is set in the 1960s, it wouldn’t be the first time Shakman directed a superhero period piece — or even a Marvel Studios project. That honor goes to WandaVision, the first-ever Marvel Studios television series. WandaVision became unique for how Shakman paid homage to sitcoms while effortlessly cycling through the decades. Nowhere is that made more clear than in the first two episodes, “Filmed Before a Live Studio Audience” and “Don’t Touch That Dial.” Both episodes nail the 1950s and 1960s aesthetics, from the clothing that Wanda (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) are wearing to the dialogue. They’re even filmed in black and white, with actual commercials! Shakman has proven that he has the skills to transition in between time periods, which could play well on the big screen with The Fantastic Four.

‘TheFantastic Four’ Setting Could Hint at ‘Secret Wars’

The biggest advantage of a ’60s-era Fantastic Four means that the Four could provide an interesting contrast to the rest of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. In comics canon, Johnny is best friends with Peter Parker, aka Spider-Man. How would their friendship differ if Johnny had a different set of values from Peter? Likewise, Reed is considered one of the smartest men in the Marvel Universe, meaning that he could provide help to other heroes — perhaps he could even form a different version of the shadowy council known as the Illuminati. The MCU is no stranger to having characters who are lost in time — Steve Rogers (Chris Evans) was frozen for a century in ice and Peter Quill (Chris Pratt) was abducted in the 1980s — but having a whole quartet of characters makes for some interesting dynamics.

The Four could also grow to be the bedrock that they are in the Marvel Comics. The Fantastic Four led to the creation of the Hulk, Spider-Man, Daredevil and the X-Men, in effect, creating the Marvel Universe as we know it. They also played a major role in Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic‘s Secret Wars miniseries. In fact, that series was built upon plot points that Hickman seeded while writing the main Fantastic Four comic. Considering that Avengers: Secret Wars (which was teased in the Deadpool & Wolverine trailer) is looking to draw from this storyline, it would make sense if the Fantastic Four were either pulled from time or an alternate universe to set it up. Time will tell if the First Family is going retro or modern for their latest big screen adventure.

Fantastic Four (2005) is available to stream on Disney+ in the U.S.

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