Julian McMahon stars in ‘The Surfer’. Photo: Saturn Films.
Preview:
‘Nip/Tuck’ and ‘Fantastic Four’ actor Julian McMahon has died at the of 56.
The Australian actor rose to fame on American television and movies.
McMahon built a career playing men who were seductive and morally ambiguous.
Julian McMahon, whose career spanned soap operas, primetime thrillers, and superhero blockbusters, who had been privately battling cancer, has died. He was 56.
McMahon became best known for his role as Dr. Christian Troy on FX’s groundbreaking series ‘Nip/Tuck’ — a performance that defined early 2000s prestige TV with its unflinching exploration of vanity, identity, and friendship.
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Earlier, he gained a devoted fanbase as the demon Cole Turner on ‘Charmed,’ where his chemistry with Alyssa Milano’s character made him a cult figure in genre television.
Behind the confident persona and polished Hollywood exterior, McMahon was described by friends as thoughtful, humble, and deeply loyal.
His wife, Kelly McMahon, shared the sad news of his passing from cancer in a statement:
“With an open heart, I wish to share with the world that my beloved husband, Julian McMahon, died peacefully this week after a valiant effort to overcome cancer. Julian loved life. He loved his family. He loved his friends. He loved his work, and he loved his fans. His deepest wish was to bring joy into as many lives as possible. We ask for support during this time to allow our family to grieve in privacy. And we wish for all of those to whom Julian brought joy, to continue to find joy in life. We are grateful for the memories.”
(L to R) Dylan Walsh and Julian McMahon in ‘Nip/Tuck’. Photo: Warner Bros. Television.
Julian Dana William McMahon was born July 27th, 1967, in Sydney, Australia. He was the son of Sir William McMahon, Australia’s 20th Prime Minister, and Lady Sonia McMahon, a fashion icon and philanthropist.
Raised in the public eye, McMahon initially pursued a career in law before modeling took him abroad. He worked in London and Milan before turning to acting, finding his first screen success in the Australian soap ‘Home and Away’.
His breakout in the US came in the late ’90s with the NBC daytime drama ‘Another World’, which led to higher-profile roles in primetime.
Julian McMahon: TV and Movie Career
Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom in 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four.’ Photo: Fox.
McMahon’s most iconic role came in 2003 with ‘Nip/Tuck’, which ran for six seasons and helped redefine cable television drama. His portrayal of Christian Troy captured both the seductiveness and spiritual emptiness of superficial perfection.
In parallel, McMahon continued to build his resume with genre roles, most notably on ‘Charmed.’
In later years, McMahon led the procedural ‘FBI: Most Wanted’ from 2020 to 2022, showcasing his ability to anchor mainstream television with subtle charisma and steeliness.
On the big screen, he stepped into the role of Victor Von Doom — arch-nemesis to the Fantastic Four—in two mid-2000s 20th Century Fox/Marvel films. Though the movies had mixed critical reception, McMahon’s performance added gravitas to the early wave of superhero cinema.
Chris Evans is reportedly heading back to the Marvel family for ‘Avengers: Doomsday.’
Joe and Anthony Russo are aboard to direct the movie.
Robert Downey Jr. will be playing Dr. Doom.
With the giant announcement back at Comic-Con this past July that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe –– but as Doctor Doom, rather than a variant of the late Tony “Iron Man” Stark –– talk has naturally turned to his fellow veteran Marvel actors and whether they’ll be back alongside the newer crop.
It seems one of the other main players has made the choice to come back, as The Wrap reports that Chris Evans is now deep in talks to return for the first of the two new ‘Avengers’ movies that the studio has planned –– ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ –– which will see the heroes going up against Doom.
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What the story doesn’t specify is whether Evans will be back as Steve Rogers, AKA Captain America, who, let’s not forget was last seen as an old man at the end of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ after he opted to spend a different timeline’s life with Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell).
So Evans could well be playing someone else, as he did when he reprised his old Fox Marvel role as Johnny Storm in this summer’s ‘Deadpool & Wolverine.’
But at the very least, it’s exciting news.
What has happened with the new ‘Avengers’ movies so far?
To say the road to the new ‘Avengers’ films has been problematic is to say an erupting volcano is a little toasty.
Originally announced as part of a big reveal by studio boss Kevin Feige at the 2022 San Diego Comic-Con about future “phase” developments, the new movies were called ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ and ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’.
‘The Kang Dynasty’ has been the real sticking point here. Though the plan had presumably been to build to a confrontation with Jonathan Majors’ multiversal villain, Majors found himself cut by Marvel after accusations (and, later a guilty result) of harassment.
While ‘Shang-Chi’ director Destin Daniel Cretton boarded the film shortly after it was announced, he’s since stepped away. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’s Shawn Levy has reportedly offered been the gig since then, but the July Con announcement also confirmed that ‘Infinity War’ and ‘Endgame’ directors Joe and Anthony Russo are back to handle the two giant team-up efforts.
‘Secret Wars’ would draw from (through the usual Marvel movie filter where changes will be made) a pair of 1980s comic book series focused on an all-powerful antagonist known as the Beyonder, who in the first installment pitted Marvel’s heroes and villains against each other on a planet known as Battleworld.
In a 2015 revival by Jonathan Hickman, the resulting conflict left the multiverse collapsed, the survivors living on a single planet ruled by classic villain Doctor Doom.
The Russos have previously talked about their enthusiasm for ‘Secret Wars’, and they’re bringing along scripter Stephen McFeely, who co-wrote most of their previous Marvel output.
Alongside Evans in whatever capacity, we’ll of course see Downey plus the ‘Fantastic Four’ cast.
Mackie is very likely to show up as Cap, and Benedict Cumberbatch has been talked about to return as Doctor Strange. We’ll have to wait and see whether the likes of Tom Holland’s Peter Parker/Spider-Man or any of the other stalwarts will be back.
There’s good money on Chris Hemsworth as Thor (since he’s still active) and hopefully the likes of Simu Liu’s Shang-Chi and Sebastian Stan’s Bucky Barnes will report for duty.
(L to R) Dwayne Johnson and Chris Evans in ‘Red One.’ Photo: Amazon MGM Studios.
Since hanging up his shield, Evans has been seen in the likes of ‘Knives Out,’ in a cameo as himself in ‘Free Guy’ and Pixar’s ‘Toy Story’ spin-off ‘Lightyear.’
There has also been Netflix pill-slinging film ‘Pain Hustlers,’ Apple action movie ‘Ghosted,’ and he reunited with the Russos to play a scheming villain in thriller ‘The Gray Man.’
More recently, there was the aforementioned ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ and Christmas-themed movie ‘Red One’ opposite Dwayne Johnson.
Coming up, we have adventure comedy ‘Sacrifice,’ rom-com ‘Materialists’ and Ethan Coen’s latest, ‘Honey Don’t.’
When will the next two ‘Avengers’ movies head to screens?
Marvel is planning to have ‘Avengers: Doomsday’ on screens on May 1st, 2026, followed by ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’ on May 7th, 2027.
Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking exclusively with editors Shane Reid (‘Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire’) and Emmy-winner Dean Zimmerman (‘Stranger Things’) about their work on ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’, working with Shawn Levy, how they got involved in the project, making an MCU movie, creating a love letter to the Marvel Fox movies, the addition of pre-MCU characters like Blade and Elektra, Madonna’s editorial note, and cutting the Void and van fight sequences.
SPOILER ALERT!!! Major spoilers for ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ below. YOU’VE BEEN WARNED!!!
Moviefone: To begin with, Dean, you’ve worked with director Shawn Levy for a long time. What was your reaction when you heard that not only would you be working on a ‘Deadpool’ movie, but that Hugh Jackman was returning as Wolverine and that the film would take place in the MCU?
Dean Zimmerman: Here’s the ironic thing about this whole thing. The movie was dead. Ryan couldn’t crack the script. Shawn was attached, obviously, they were trying to come up with an idea. It wasn’t working. I was literally in the Hamptons cutting in a house that we were renting. He had a meeting with Kevin Feige and Louis D’Esposito at 2pm that day. We were literally cutting in the morning. He gets a call at 11am from Ryan Reynolds and says, “Hugh Jackman just called me and wants in.” Like that morning! So, the meeting was going to be, “Guys, we’re passing. We can’t crack it. We’re done. We’re not going to do the movie. We’ll come back to it later in time.” To, “We’ve got Hugh Jackman on board who’s going to put on the suit and be Wolverine. Does that work for you guys?” That’s literally how the meeting went. It was the craziest. It happened instantaneous, literally the moment Hugh said he was in. It was like someone lit a candle on a rocket. We were shooting within months of that. That’s how fast it all came together. The script essentially wrote itself. The fact that I was going to be doing this was … because there was such a lead up to doing this. It was like, “Oh, wait. We’re not going to do it.” So, the letdown was just dreadful and cutting with Shawn on this other thing, I was like, “Such a bummer. What are we going to do next?” The fact that that happened that day, the day I’ll never forget the rest of my life. I’ll always remember where I was and exactly what I was doing when that call came in. Obviously, it’s changed all of us. I got to meet Shane, which is now, he’s a lifelong brother and partner now. There are so many great things that happened, but at the end of the day, we told a great story, and we made a great movie. It’s what Shawn and I have been doing for 22-years and we’re going to continue to keep doing so.
MF: Shane, how did you get involved with this project and teaming up with Shawn and Dean?
Shane Reid: I hit the lottery in life, and I met Blake Lively doing a music video with her that she directed for Taylor Swift. She was a very fast friend and a fast creative partner, a wonderful person, and so generous. I got so lucky because Ryan and her are so involved in the work that they do with each other that I just got through proximity to get to know Ryan. I’d be cutting that video and then Ryan would be sending me a text message, like, “You’re the nicest guy in the world and I can’t believe what you’re doing. This was so awesome and she’s so happy.” It was like you’re all of a sudden involved in this relationship with the two of them and they’re such creative supporters of each other that when Ryan announced ‘Deadpool’ was going to happen, I was just like, “This is insane, but I’m going to ask Blake if she feels like there’s any position that I could have on this movie and if there isn’t, I get it.” It’s a big ask. I started talking to her and it was a little almost quiet for a minute. Then I didn’t realize that she was selling me through to Shawn and selling me through to Ryan and just really telling these guys, “This guy’s special. He is right up the alley of the creative collaboration that you and Dean and Ryan have assembled and is going to fit in with that and is going to bring you some ideas.” She was just such an unbelievable force in that way. So, I took a meeting with Shawn, took meetings with Dean and I think there was a little bit of a like, “Let’s just see how this goes.” I would say that the toughest thing for me going into the film and still the toughest thing to the end of it was that Dean and Shawn have this couple decade long relationship. When I first saw them on set together, I was like, “Oh, my god. These guys feel like they’re godfather and godson or something. They’re so tight and close and how do I possibly enter that and be respectful, additive, and someone who doesn’t become obtrusive or in their way?” Also, because I have a relationship with Ryan, how do I not show him stuff and respect Shawn’s position? It was a dance that was difficult, at first. They were so welcoming and warm and very much like, “Hey, man, you fly, and you do your thing, and we’ll see where this all fits.” It was just my luck that it all worked so well, and that Dean was such a generous person and Shawn a generous person and also people that expected a high threshold of turnaround and talent. I feel very fortunate to have met the requirements and now we’re all like a group of brothers.
MF: Dean, you spent a large part of your career working on the 20th Century Fox lot editing movies for that studio. ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ is very much a love letter to that company and particularly the Marvel movies that they made. Given that, how did it feel to work on this movie, and can you talk about the Fox outtakes sizzle reel that plays during the end credits?
DZ: So that was an idea that was spawned by Ryan. He wanted to do a love letter to Fox to thank them for all the opportunities that they gave him. Shane cut that. It was kind of all hands-on deck at 21 Laps. Shawn’s company sent us a zillion YouTube clips of behind-the-scenes footage, and poor Shane poured through hours and hours of footage to make this legacy reel. We had a song that we wanted to use, the Green Day song. So that was all done, but it was all spawned from Ryan’s appreciation and love of Fox. But for me, personally, it was the culmination of a legacy that no longer exists. It’s kind of a shell of what it used to be. When I saw it, it was very moving and very powerful. I knew even if people didn’t understand what was happening, they could appreciate what it was. Right? Which are these years of this iconic studio pushing out some of the biggest titles in the world. To be in the MCU and our first time working at Marvel and Disney, their not only willingness to be open to something like this, but their enthusiasm and support behind it all is really what made the whole experience even more special because it felt like we were going back home. Right? I felt like I was back on the Fox lot because they really embraced the same qualities and uniqueness that existed at Fox for so many of my early years. So, it was great, and it was fun. I hope for a long career at Marvel. I love them. I think they’re great. Again, the support they gave us on not only just that part of it, but the whole movie in general is what made this thing so special and unique.
The cast of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’ at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Okay, let’s talk spoilers! Shane, what was it like editing the scenes with pre-MCU actors and characters, and which one surprised you the most and was your favorite?
SR: It’s hard to say which one is my favorite. They’re all so my favorite, but I think one of the things that Dean and I have not really talked about is what we all did with Chris Evans coming out as Cap, and then turning it into Johnny Storm, which was always one of our favorite surprises. In the boards, we had a little bit of an idea of how that sequence would end with Pyro (Aaron Stanford) extinguishing his flame, but we all built him hitting the tower and falling in post. It was a collaboration between the four of us and our pre-viz team and our visual effects team where we were like, there’s this tower just sitting here and there’s such a funny way to utilize it. So, it became about how do we have one of the biggest characters in movies, but completely flip the script on who he is and what the expectation of that character is by bringing back this other character and then just humiliating him in a very Deadpool way and leaving him as this broken person on the floor that they go, “We don’t even know who that dude was.” It was such a microcosm of what it’s like to be in a ‘Deadpool’ movie and how the characters are treated differently. I think it’s my favorite because Chris was so fun and funny. I think I was saying to people who love Chris as Cap, which there are quite a few, and he has had all these great sequences where he’s very serious and quite earnest, but now they get to add to their lexicon, a moment where he is having fun and in on the joke with everybody. So, we constructed that scene. I had found a YouTube videos of a drunk woman on her husband’s shoulders at a wedding who fell off and she sort of scorpions on the ground, and it was so brutal. We’re like, “Let’s do this to him at the end.” So, we built that from pre-vis, we would record a bunch of scripts on top of it, all the way to finishing it through in visual effects. So, that might be my favorite of all of them.
Channing Tatum as Gambit in ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’. Photo: Marvel Studios.
MF: Dean, which surprise appearance was your favorite?
DZ: I will say Gambit, Channing’s character. Just because I really hadn’t known much of him, but that character I loved every second, every word it was amazing. The fact that Ryan just can’t understand him is I just thought brilliant and the casting was amazing. Channing just killed it. It was great.
Wesley Snipes in 1998’s ‘Blade’. Photo: New Line Cinema.
MF: Dean, what was it like seeing Wesley Snipes return as Blade and have a chance to shape his performance?
DZ: It was as rewarding as anything could be because obviously his movies I was watching as a kid, right? Now being able to cut something that he would be in was awesome. Just the presence and the power of his character. By the way, he’s such a sweetheart. In real life, you’re meeting your heroes. These are the guys, and you know how sometimes people are like, “You don’t want to meet your heroes because sometimes they’re not who you expect them to be.” You just can’t say that to anyone in this crew. There are actors I work with and I’m like, “Oh, man. What a bummer. They’re not who I was expecting them to be.” But then there’s the ones that you’re just like, “Oh, my god.” Every single person on this cast was just the most beautiful soul. They were all just there for the right reasons and they gave 110%. Everyone on that crew did. It was spectacular. I mean, it was one for the record books, for sure.
Jennifer Garner attends ‘The Adam Project’ World Premiere at Alice Tully Hall on February 28, 2022 in New York City. Photo by Monica Schipper/Getty Images for Netflix.
MF: Dean, was Jennifer Garner’s appearance as Elektra a result of you, Shawn and Ryan working with her on ‘The Adam Project’?
DZ: No. I think it was just kind of bringing in these legacy people. At one point we had Jen and Ben Affleck coming back as Daredevil. Obviously, there was some stuff. But it was funnier to just have the one and then joke about it, you know what I mean? So that kind of worked out that way and I think the relationship with Jen on ‘The Adam Project ‘pushed the cards to her side a little bit more, but either way it would’ve worked perfectly. But no, it was also just to have another female badass character come back and who better than Electra, like come on!
MF: Dean, Ryan Reynolds said during the press tour that he and Shawn had to meet with Madonna to get the rights to use ‘Like A Prayer’ in the movie. He also said that during that meeting, Madonna had a note about that scene that was eventually implemented. Can you reveal which scene that was and what was her suggestion?
DZ: The editorial note that she wanted to do was I think a tonal note, but I think that came off what was recorded. So, we were always going to do an orchestra accompaniment with ‘Like a Prayer’ and we did it. We recorded it in London. What her big note was, was that it wasn’t “urban enough”. It sounded like a group of 50 white British men and women singing and she wanted it more “urban”. She wanted a robust gospel choir and more soul. So, that forced us to re-record in LA with this gospel choir and thank God, she did it. It’s just her brilliance and her being around for as long as she has that made this happen and it literally took it to a totally different level. It was a headache to do because we were literally on the final mixing stage doing the mix on the movie, and to do all this stuff last second. Also, (composer) Rob (Simonson) had to write it. So, it was all, again, happening so fast. The whole thing did, the post schedule on this was nothing like I’ve ever seen as long as I’ve been doing this, 30 something years. I’ve never experienced a post schedule this quickly with this many visual effects and the amount of scrutiny and pressure to have this be as a massive hit because the industry was depending on it almost.
MF: Shane, can you talk about cutting the fight sequences in the Void between Wolverine and Sabretooth, and Deadpool and Wolverine?
SR: The void fight, it was the first fight sequence I’ve ever cut. I remember thinking, maybe there’s these tricks that I must know. Do I cut frames out? Do I add these speed effects? Like anything, it’s just a feeling. It’s just a flow and a rhythm. I mean, I will say that the choreography by our stunt choreographer and just Hugh Jackman, my God, the faces he would make, the performance that he gave. I think what it did was it effectively gave audience members a fight that they feel like they’re sometimes missing. It gave character performance and personality to a fight sequence, and it kept it really grounded. Everything that we did from the van fight and the Void fight with Sabretooth were very grounded experiences in real world locations with props that were real. I think it’s what allows people to connect a little bit more to the physicality of the film and the characters and make them feel more human. One of the things that I keep saying from the trailer, when we first did one of the trailers where Deadpool unloads all the bullets in Wolverine’s rib cage. I was thinking, “I think that we are underestimating how powerful these visuals are.” When have we ever seen a character in any movie that’s a human being take a rib cage full of bullets in a trailer or anything? It was one of the things I thought was most exciting going into this movie is that you have that ‘Planes, Trains and Automobiles’, ‘48 Hrs.’, ‘Rush Hour’ tension that exists between two characters you want to see grow, but now you’ve weaponized them and they’re indestructible and they can take out that frustration physically. I think that’s the first time an audience has ever gotten to experience that take on it.
MF: Finally, Dean, what was it like cutting the incredible fight sequence in the van between Deadpool and Wolverine?
DZ: I mean, that sequence again was choreographed within an inch of its life because of the constraints of what it is, you’re fighting in a van! Deadpool couldn’t use his katanas, so we had to use the little knife that he had in his chest piece and his baby knife, where Wolverine just had these claws. So, it was always going to be a bloodbath. The biggest challenge was getting that sequence and then finding the right music to go to it. We obviously knew we were going to do the head against the radio with a full nod to ‘The Greatest Showman’ there. But then where do you go? What do you do? That’s where, again, Shane is so great with music. He picked the AC/DC song for the Void fight. I can’t remember what we came up with (for the van scene). (Note: It was “You’re the one that I want” from ‘Grease’). It’s just one of those things, like, “Let’s just put in this.” It’s like how do you do the contradiction of it? Make it weird and different but keeping it visceral and real. But again, where Shane was saying, having Hugh’s face and the anger and just the pure hatred for this character. Again, this is something that’s been built up for so long because in the press they (Ryan and Hugh) pretended they hated each other, even though they were best friends. So, it was literally both these fights were like this long time coming. To see that viscerally on Hugh’s face, and again, he went there because he was going through stuff emotionally, in his personal life as well as professionally. The performance he brought is what really made this all not only grounded and real, but just it brought it to the next level where you felt the palpable tension and you felt the hatred and you felt like, “Yeah. They’re going to fight, and they want to kill each other.” It was great. It was a little bit paint by numbers, but at the same time there were some things that wasn’t working, and we had the opportunity and luxury of having a production team very open and receptive to how fast that we work in the cutting room. Getting dailies and cutting them so quickly and showing Shawn and going, “We don’t think this works. Can we come up with something else better for this?” Then them just going out and doing it the next day. The other thing that I will say is all these fights, they were shot on location. They weren’t on a stage. They weren’t on a green screen or a blue screen. It was all out in the real world. That’s what makes this so different than a lot of these other sequences because they’re all CG. They drove the car! We trashed the van! All this stuff, we did in real life out in London, which Marvel doesn’t do because it’s all so secretive. So, it was a real testament to the lengths that they went to give us the support that we wanted to do, which was to make a real film out in the world. Yes, there were some leaks, and we had our trials and tribulations with paparazzi and all that kind of stuff, but we got through it, and it all worked hand in hand, and it made us better. I think what it showed is that we are doing something different and more unique than any other Marvel movie has done. I think that’s what audiences are enjoying more than anything, not knowing that that’s why it is because we did it for real in real life.
SR: I’ll just add one thing onto the van fight that I’m realizing I haven’t really commented on that notches up the performance and the joy of that scene, which was such a weird choice by Hugh to just start laughing while Deadpool’s on top of him, which is such a character moment of just like, “Come on.” Then Ryan had the idea to add some dripping blood onto his cheek and teeth, and it’s just such a weird piece of the puzzle that elevates sequences like that from a fight scene to like, “God, I’m getting story and character in a moment that should just be getting punches and kicks and flying around.” I think that’s the difference in this film is that you feel it everywhere.
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What is the plot of ‘Deadpool & Wolverine’?
Six years after the events of ‘Deadpool 2’, Wade Wilson (Ryan Reynolds) lives a quiet life, having left his time as the mercenary Deadpool behind him, until the Time Variance Authority (TVA)—a bureaucratic organization that exists outside of time and space and monitors the timeline—pulls him into a new mission. With his home universe facing an existential threat, Wilson reluctantly joins an even more reluctant Wolverine (Hugh Jackman) on a mission that will change the history of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU).
(Left) John Malkovich in ‘Burn After Reading’. Photo: Focus Features. (Right) Ralph Ineson in ‘The Last Victim.’
Preview:
‘Fantastic Four’ has added actors John Malkovich and Ralph Ineson.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bacharach are among the leads.
The movie will be on screens in 2025.
As it starts to really fill out its cast –– Paul Walter Hauser was the most recent addition –– details on Marvel’s new cinematic plans for its First Family are starting to come into focus.
And with two new casting additions, we have one big new chunk of information about the movie.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Photo courtesy of Pinterest.
The movie, which finally see Marvel’s most famous comic book superheroes (though X-Men fans might argue that) join the company’s sprawling Cinematic Universe, is mostly being kept under wraps.
Marvel has not said anything about the story, though its first imagery suggests a period setting.
Hauser’s character is unknown for now, but we did learn that Julia Garner has joined the cast as Shalla-Bal, a version of Silver Surfer.
And that connects directly to Ineson’s casting, as he’ll play Galactus, one of the more powerful character in Marvel lore. While he isn’t always a clear-cut villain (he has in the past, worked with both the Four and the Avengers in the comics), the fact that he consumes whole planets and everything on them usually means that he’s bad news for any hero team he comes into contact with. The Surfer is usually the herald of Galactus who scouts worlds for his next meal.
Marvel Comics’ Galactus. Photo: Marvel Comics.
Whether Ineson will be heading into a voice booth or showing up on set in a performance capture suit a la Thanos actor Josh Brolin may depend on how the movie is portraying the character. He’s often visualized as a giant in a suit and a helmet, though movies have previously chosen to go the weird cloud of energy route.
Ineson is probably best known to genre fans for several projects –– a British actor who played the obnoxious Finchy on the original, UK ‘The Office’, he’s had some choice movies, including in Robert Eggers’ ‘The Witch’, David Lowery’s ‘The Green Knight’ and, more recently in ‘The Creator’ and ‘The First Omen’. He’s reunited with Eggers for ‘Nosferatu’, which will be in theaters on December 25th.
As for Malkovich, we don’t yet know who he’ll be playing.
Who is making ‘The Fantastic Four’?
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ director and executive producer Matt Shakman. Photo: Apple TV+.
Matt Shakman, who worked on ‘WandaVision’, is directing the film, working from a script that has seen contributions from Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer. And ‘WandaVision’s Peter Cameron did some work once Shakman boarded the project, also.
When will ‘The Fantastic Four’ be in theaters?
Disney and Marvel are aiming to have the movie in theaters on July 25th, 2025.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are the new Fantastic Four
Their casting is not much of a surprise given rumors.
Matt Shakman is directing the movie.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel! The studio has decided to set fans hearts at rest after months (in some cases years) of casting rumours and officially announced the cast for its ‘Fantastic Four’ movie –– at least, the introduction of the famous super-team into the MCU.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Photo courtesy of Pinterest.
Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/The Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing are key players in the pages of Marvel, known as the “First Family”, and introduced in 1961. They are among most anticipated characters (alongside the X-Men) to be included in the sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe.
They’re canonically exposed to galactic radiation and end up cursed/blessed (depending on how you view it) with strange abilities. Reed can stretch his body in a variety of ways, Sue can turn invisible and generate forcefields, Johnny’s body becomes engulfed in flame (and he can fly), while Grimm becomes a rock-covered, incredibly strong creature.
And to be clear here, Pascal will be Reed, Kirby’s playing Sue, Quinn is taking the role of Johnny and Moss-Bachrach will be Ben.
They’ve been brought to screens before –– an unauthorized Roger Cormanversion floats around the internet after being traded on bootleg videos years ago, and then there were the Fox efforts, 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four’ and 2007 sequel ‘Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer’. They were followed by the dark, gritty and unsuccessful reboot in 2015.
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Who is making the ‘Fantastic Four’ movie?
‘Monarch: Legacy of Monsters’ director and executive producer Matt Shakman. Photo: Apple TV+.
Matt Shakman, one of the key directors on ‘WandaVision’, is overseeing the new film.
This one has been in development for a long time now, with Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer among those who have worked on drafts of the script. ‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ co-writer Josh Friedman is crafting the latest version.
Jon Hamm as Vice Admiral Beau “Cyclone” Simpson in ‘Top Gun: Maverick.’ Photo: Paramount Pictures.
Preview:
Jon Hamm has said in an interview that he hopes to get a chance to appear in an MCU movie.
The actor is a big fan of Marvel.
He was considered for the role of Mister Sinister in a Fox X-Men film.
The Marvel Cinematic Universe might not be as successful as it once was –– latest release ‘The Marvels’ has flopped badly at the box office, and there is increasing criticism of the sheer number of movies and TV shows audiences have to keep up with in order to follow the story.
Yet that isn’t stopping actors from wanting to jump aboard the MCU, especially those who are established fans of superheroes.
Among that number is ‘Mad Men’ star Jon Hamm, who has not been short of work since the ad agency drama finished. He’s recently been a recurring guest star on ‘The Morning Show’ and is a part of the cast for the new season of ‘Fargo’.
On the press tour for the latter, he expressed an interest in working with the Marvel team.
“Those decisions get made at such a high level at this point, definitely above my pay grade. I would love to. I’ve been a fan of Marvel Comics and comics in general since I was probably single digits. I think there are tons of stories that I’m familiar with, at least, that are still out there to be told. Hopefully, whatever their plans are, they include me. But if not, I know that they have a pretty deep bench of folks that are ready to be a part of those stories. There are certainly a lot of stories in the X-Men world to be told. Fantastic Four as well, [like] Doctor Doom. There are so many great things out there. But yeah, I hope I get a chance. Who knows?”
Of course, Doctor Doom would seem to be a good fit for Hamm, though there is a wealth of other options, even if the list of major characters has started to dwindle given the 15-year history of the MCU so far.
Marvel Comics’ Mister Sinister. Photo: Marvel Comics.
And this isn’t the first time he’s been linked to Marvel; Hamm was considered for the role of Mister Sinister, who was mooted as a villain in 2020’s ‘The New Mutants’, but which never actually ended up happening.
So, could Hamm still make an appearance? Marvel would surely be happy to work with him, so which character do you think he should play?
Jon Hamm in ‘The Morning Show,’ premiering September 13, 2023 on Apple TV+.
(Left) Pedro Pascal in ‘The Last of Us.’ Photo: Warner Media. (Right) Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic from Marvel Comics. Photo: Marvel.
Preview:
Pedro Pascal appears to be headed to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
He’s in talks to play Reed Richards in ‘Fantastic Four’.
‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman is attached to direct the movie.
Is there anything Pedro Pascal can’t do on the genre front? He’s already a firm part of the ‘Star Wars’ universe thanks to his role on ‘The Mandalorian’.
And he’s been at the forefront of the successful video game adaptation genre via the role of Joel in ‘The Last of Us’ on HBO, not to mention a previous role on the channel’s megahit ‘Game of Thrones’.
Now, it appears, he’s headed for possibly his most high-profile job of all: Pascal is, according to Deadline, in serious talks for the role of Reed Richards, AKA Mr. Fantastic in the MCU’s ‘Fantastic Four’.
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Who is Reed Richards?
Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic from Marvel Comics. Photo: Marvel.
Created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby for ‘Fantastic Four #1’, first published in 1961, Richards is a scientific genius and the leader of the Fantastic Four team.
When he and his colleagues were bombarded with cosmic radiation, Richards ended up with the ability to contort and stretch his body in different ways.
Along with Sue Storm (his main love interest, who has the power to generate forcefields and turn invisible, earning the name Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (Sue’s cocky younger brother, who becomes a being of flame known as the Human Torch and can fly) and Ben Grimm (Reed’s best friend who ends up covered in a rocky substance, becoming near invincible and super strong, and is called The Thing), he battles various enemies and has been a key part of the Marvel Comics universe for decades.
In movie form, he’s been brought to screens a few times, including an authorized Roger Corman production. But in terms of official movies, Ioan Gruffudd played him in two films based on the characters directed by Tim Story in 2005 and 2007 and Miles Teller in a moodier, darker and ultimately unsuccessful reboot in 2015, all released by 20th Century Fox.
When Disney bought Fox, they inherited the company’s Marvel properties including the FF and the X-Men.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four. Photo courtesy of Pinterest.
At the 2019 San Diego Comic-Con, Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige announced, after fervent fan speculation, that the Four would be joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe in a new movie, via another reboot.
The following August, MCU ‘Spider-Man’ trilogy director John Watts was announced as director, but stepped down in April 2022, deciding he needed a break from superhero movies (he’s since worked on a ‘Star Wars’ TV series).
Currently, ‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman is on board as director, with Josh Friedman (who worked on the most recent ‘Avatar’ movie) writing the script.
“Fantastic Four is the foundation for everything that came after in the comics. There’s certainly been versions of it [on screen], but never inhabiting the storytelling of the MCU. And that’s something that is really exciting for us.”
While the caution is that a deal is far from done (the ever-busy Pascal has a packed schedule to work around, including finishing up ‘Gladiator 2’, the next season of ‘The Last of Us’ and Zach Cregger’s follow-up to ‘Barbarians’, ‘Weapons’.
If Pascal is indeed confirmed, expect the other casting to fall into place before too long.
When is ‘Fantastic Four’ due in theaters?
Assuming it keeps to its schedule, the movie should be released on May 2, 2025.
The ongoing writers’ strike (and potential action from other guilds such as the actors’ union) is having a major impact on studio output. And Disney is not immune to changes in schedule. The company has announced that it is moving the release dates for a lot of its big upcoming movies, and that means we’ll all have to be patient when it comes to the likes of Marvel, James Cameron’s ‘Avatar’ and the ‘Star Wars’ galaxy.
Marvel, of course, has been delaying some of its films’ production and that is having a domino effect for the highly connected cinematic universe, which relies on films to set up the next entries. Lest the tapestry all unravel, that means moving some movies back.
And because there is only so much space on the calendar (and Disney seemingly already takes up a third of it), that means the next giant, phase-ending team-up movies are also on the move. ‘Avengers: The Kang Dynasty’ will be bumped back a year, to May 1st, 2026, inheriting the release date for follow-up ‘Avengers: Secret Wars’, which itself is headed to May 7th, 2027.
It’s not all delays for the MCU, though; ‘Deadpool 3’, which is in production, will move up from its original November 8th, 2024, date to May 3rd of that year.
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More ‘Avatar’ delays
‘Avatar: The Way of Water’ will be available exclusively to purchase on Digital March 28th.
Though James Cameron’s movies would seemingly not be impacted by a writers’ strike since their scripts are essentially finished, the series can’t avoid the release date shuffle.
That means ‘Avatar’ fans, already well used to the waiting game, will see their patience tested further, since ‘Avatar 3’ has moved to December 19th, 2025, ‘Avatar 4’ to December 21st, 2029, and ‘Avatar 5’ all the way to December 19th, 2031! which means the apparent final movie will land 22 years after the original 2009 film.
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New ‘Star Wars’ movie dates
(L to R) Director Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy and Daisy Ridley at Star Wars Celebration 2023.
If you were starting to wonder when we might ever see a new ‘Star Wars’ movie, then there’s good news.
2026 will see two movies set in that galaxy far, far away from Lucasfilm, one on May 22nd, 2026 (not the fourth?) and another set for the more traditional recent slot of December 18th that year.
A third film is reportedly headed our way on December 17th, 2027. Disney has yet to clarify any details of which of its in-development movies are taking those berths, but we can assume one is the Rey follow-up starring Daisy Ridley which has Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy in the director’s chair and was confirmed at Star Wars Celebration. On the basis of that, we can also predict that Dave Filoni’s film and possibly James Mangold‘s movie might be in the other two slots.
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Live-Action ‘Moana’ and more
Dwayne Johnson announces live-action ‘Moana.’ Courtesy of Walt Disney Studios.
There are also dates on the calendar now for films that didn’t have them previously –– the live-action ‘Moana’ is set to surface on June 27th, 2025, while Fede Álvarez’ movie set in the ‘Alien’ universe is arriving on August 16th next year. Espionage thriller ‘The Amateur’, starring Rami Malek, is set for November next year.
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Frustration ahead for film fans, then, but hopefully the movies will be worth the wait.
Of course, history ended up going a very different way: Julian McMahon ended up playing Victor Von Doom in Tim Story’s superhero movie and Robert Downey Jr. saw his career skyrocket to new heights playing Tony Stark in the first film Marvel Cinematic Universe.
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The revelation came from ‘Iron Man’ director Jon Favreau, who sat down with Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige for a video looking back at the making of the 2008 movie.
Says Favreau in the video (which you can watch above),
“I remember you had all met with him already for like Doctor Doom or something on another project. I think he had come through on maybe ‘Fantastic Four,’ so everybody sort of knew who he was.”
Robert Downey Jr. in ‘Iron Man 3’
Fantastic future?
It’s fun to speculate on what might have happened with Downey and the ‘Fantastic Four’ movies had he ended up in the role. Would he have made more of an impact than McMahon (who admittedly came back for the sequel)? Almost certainly. Might it have turned those ‘Fantastic Four’ movies into a hugely successful franchise and spared us all the gloomy 2015 reboot? Less certain.
It’s unlikely that Downey Jr. would have enjoyed the same freedom and collaboration that he had with Favreau and the scrappier, still-an-independent company Marvel. Back in 2005, ‘Fantastic Four’ was a tentpole for 20th Century Fox and we doubt the riskier shooting style would have been embraced. In the same video, Favreau opens up about both the re-writing process of the film and how RDJ’s casting unlocked ‘Iron Man’ for him and his team.
Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom in 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four.’
“Once it was him, that’s when my life got a lot easier, because he understood. He understood the voice of the character. And then one by one, people were just signing on board because now it became something interesting.”
Downey’s casting was a domino that then led to opportunity to add Gwyneth Paltrow, Jeff Bridges, Paul Bettany and more, and the rest, as they say, was history. The MCU was born and would go on to earn more than $29.5 billion at the box office alone.
Had someone else ended up as Tony Stark (historically, Tom Cruise was circling the role years before Marvel’s version), who knows whether the movie would have taken off to the same degree. So perhaps we are living in the best timeline when it comes to that history.
Marvel, of course, is producing its own take on the ‘Fantastic Four,’ with ‘WandaVision’s Matt Shakman directing and casting rumors flying thick and fast –– currently Margot Robbie, Adam Driver and Paul Mescal are those being talked about, but nothing has been officially confirmed. With Comic-Con next month, we’re expecting to learn more.
Julian McMahon as Victor Von Doom / Doctor Doom in 2005’s ‘Fantastic Four.’
Other Movies Similar to ‘Iron Man’ and ‘Fantastic Four’:
Plotting with all the tactics of a military campaign, the Marvel team has been drip-feeding information about its upcoming Disney+ series ‘Secret Invasion’, which sees the full return of Samuel L. Jackson’s eyepatch-sporting (though not always here, more on that below) tough nut and former S.H.I.E.L.D. boss.
The new series catches us up with not only Fury but also the Skrull aliens we met in ‘Captain Marvel’, primarily led by Ben Mendelsohn’s Talos.
Originally believed to be a threat, they were actually revealed as refugees from a catastrophic war with the more dangerous race known as the Kree (for whom Brie Larson’s Carol Danvers initially fought before realizing their less friendly nature and helping Fury fight them alongside Talos).
Yet decades later, the Skrulls haven’t received what humanity promised –– access to a new homeworld of their own and real help –– so there is now a faction dedicated to taking what they’re owed, but duplicity or force.
Led by Gravik (Kingsley Ben-Adir), the group uses their shape-changing powers to wreak havoc. And among their number is someone close to Talos (spoiler alert: it’s his daughter, G’iah, played by ‘Game of Thrones’ veteran Emilia Clarke.)
To combat this threat, Fury turns not to his Avengers-level super-friends (the trailer makes a point of that, so perhaps the series will explain his thinking) but to some more down-to-Earth associates, including Talos, loyal lieutenant Maria Hill (Cobie Smulders) and Everett K. Ross (Martin Freeman).
And sitting squarely in between the two sides of the conflict we have Olivia Colman’s character, Special Agent Sonya Falsworth, a high-ranking member of Britain’s intelligence service MI6 (think the real-world organization that employs James Bond in a whole other fictional universe). She’s apparently been both friend and foe to Nick Fury in the past.
Casting-wise, we’ll also see Carmen Ejogo, Christopher McDonald, and Marvel veteran Don Cheadle, back as James Rhodes, here in more of a political capability than his usual War Machine style (though we’d be shocked if he didn’t suit up at some point).
Oh, and talking of a changed style, Fury also has an altered look at times –– he’s not always wearing his trademark eyepatch, which covers a damaged eye.
“He just doesn’t wear the patch. The patch is part of who the strong Nick Fury was. It’s part of his vulnerability now. You can look at it and see he’s not this perfectly indestructible person. He doesn’t feel like that guy.”
The series promises to be more of a global political spy thriller, albeit with the alien overtones and of course healthy dollops of MCU lore. But it’ll be a personal mission for Fury, who has been off-planet since the events of ‘Avengers: Endgame’ and realizes that he’s been out of touch in more ways than one. And kicking some scheming alien butt might just be his way to make contact again.
Here’s what executive producer executive producer Jonathan Schwartz says about Fury:
“Sins from his past start to haunt him once again. We often see Nick Fury doing the right thing. We don’t always see him doing it in a perfectly morally correct way. All of those things have ramifications. Without getting too specific, the things that Nick Fury’s had to do to protect the Earth have costs.”
And here’s more from Jackson:
“Nick had a whole Skrull spy network because they could shape-shift and go places that people couldn’t go. They kept their word. They worked for him, but he hasn’t done what he said he was going to do. They want a home. They want to live. They want to live like they are. They want to live in their skin. They don’t want to live in ours.”
‘Secret Invasion’ kicks off on Disney+ on June 21st.
Marvel Studios’ ‘Secret Invasion.’
In other Marvel news, there has been another change behind the scenes on the movie front.
While Kaplan and Springer are more known for comedy writing, Josh Friedman has some big sci-fi bona fides.
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What has Josh Friedman worked on?
Most recently, Friedman was part of James Cameron’s writing team for the ‘Avatar’ sequels (he has a story credit on ‘The Way of Water’). He’s also worked on the script for next year’s ‘Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes’.
Also on the small screen, he’s run or been part of the development for ‘Foundation’ and ‘Snowpiercer’.
Whether this means a complete re-write or beefing up the sci-fi side of things remains to be seen, but ‘Fantastic Four’ is still currently scheduled to arrive in theaters on February 14th, 2025.
The ongoing writers’ strike (and potential action from other guilds such as the actors’ union) is having a major impact on studio output. And 
