Since December 2020, when Kevin Feige officially announced that the Fantastic Four film was in development, it has remained atop many fans’ lists as one of the most highly anticipated projects in the MCU. The debut of Marvel’s First Family in the Marvel Cinematic Universe is something fans have been looking forward to even before the acquisition of the rights by Disney.
Details surrounding the film are largely speculative, with fans eagerly awaiting any official announcements from Marvel regarding the story, the release, and above all, who will be cast in what is arguably one of the biggest roles in the MCU for at least the next ten years. Of course, with the current SAG-AFTRA strike taking place at the writing of this article, it is unlikely that fans will get any sort of update on that front as studios and corporations reach an agreement with the actors for the fair compensation and pay actors and actresses deserve for the immeasurable work that they do in this business.
However, while we wait for official confirmations on who will be a part of the cast for Marvel’s next Fantastic Four film, we at The Cosmic Circus can reveal some new information regarding the production following months of investigation.
The Fantastic Four movie’s working title is “Blue Moon”
According to our sources, the working title Marvel Studios is using for the upcoming Fantastic Four film is “Blue Moon.” We first caught wind of this as a working title for a Marvel project at the beginning of the year, however, we could not, at that time, tie the working title to a specific Marvel project. As the year went on, more and more information and discoveries started to pour in, leading to some teases from yours truly back in May earlier this year:
This song really resonated to me in my childhood. Especially that line about being “Mysterious as the Blue Side of the Moooon” 💙🌙 4️⃣ pic.twitter.com/W4SunER8rO
— Alex P. (@AlexFromCC) May 1, 2023
As our fellow writer and colleague, Ayla Ruby, wrote in an article about the working titles for the upcoming Avengers films: “A working title is like a codename, when casting calls go out or when making deals, the codename will be used instead of the project name to help keep things quiet…Working titles at Disney and Marvel can be nods to comic lore or even just in-jokes.”
And just like the previous working titles for Marvel Studios projects, the Blue Moon working title also alludes to comic lore that ties into the history of Marvel’s First Family. This title provides us with many potential clues for the story Marvel Studios seeks to tell for the MCU debut of the Fantastic Four.
The blue area of the Moon explained
In Marvel Comics, millions of years ago, the Skrulls discovered the planet Hala, home to 2 races, the Kree and the Cotati. To test which race was superior to share their secrets with, the Skrulls used the Earth’s moon as a Skrull colony testing site for the Kree and the Cotati. The Kree would build an area known as the Blue Area of the Moon, which was a thriving city and metropolis, while the Cotati managed to grow life on the surface of the Moon.
When the Cotati were selected by the Skrulls as the superior race, the Kree rebelled and killed the Skrulls and Cotati, right before abandoning the Area to decay and essentially become ruins. This event would mark the start of the centuries-long story of the Kree/Skrull War in the comics. But it’s highly unlikely that’s what Marvel intends to cover in their upcoming Fantastic Four film.
Prior to the expansion of the Skrull and Kree lore, the Blue Side of the Moon made its Marvel Comics debut during one of the Fantastic Four’s earliest outings in 1963 (Fantastic Four #13) as mere ruins of an “ancient civilization”. In that comic, the Fantastic Four traveled to the Blue Side of the Moon, after a meteor fragment from the area was discovered by Reed Richards. It is in that very comic that the being known as Uatu The Watcher makes his comics’ debut, as his home is in this very area.
The new Fantastic Four are headed for a cosmic adventure
The Blue Moon working title seems to indicate the possibility that the Blue Area of the Moon may serve as one of the more important settings of this movie. When we asked our sources about the possible connection between the working title and the story for the Fantastic Four, our sources were able to confirm that Marvel intends for the First Family to make their debut in style by starting off with a grand cosmic adventure. However, this raises several questions.
If the Fantastic Four is set to be one of the next cosmic stories for the MCU, there are a handful of candidates that could step up to the plate as the First Family’s first antagonists. Rumors from multiple forums have circulated on the possibility of Galactus and his herald being the antagonists of the film. Our sources were unable to provide a straight answer.
Our previous reporting indicated a Silver Surfer special that was in development, meant for release prior to the Fantastic Four film. No update or move has been made on the Silver Surfer special, citing a “standstill” as new ideas develop for the Fantastic Four film under director Matt Shakman. However, per our sources, there is credence, to say the least, in the possibility of the Devourer of Worlds being a significant part of the film.
As for the Blue Area of the Moon, granted that it serves as his current base of operations, a question should be raised about the potential involvement of Uatu the Watcher in the upcoming Fantastic Four film. After all, in the comics, Uatu first reveals himself and breaks his oath to intervene with the Fantastic Four. The Watcher is also the being that warned them about the coming of Galactus.
So, a case could be made that Uatu’s first live-action appearance could be in the upcoming Fantastic Four film. This would not only introduce an animated character to live-action, but it would also introduce a potential Multiverse aspect into the film, tying the project to the overall Multiverse Saga.
Could the Fantastic Four be set in another universe, potentially serving as the explanation for their absence on Earth-616? Only time will tell when the Fantastic Four film premieres on May 2, 2025. What do you think about “Blue Moon” as the working title for Fantastic Four? Let us know on social media @mycosmiccircus or on The Cosmic Circus Discord.
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