When director Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four reboot film tanked at the box office last summer, 20th Century Fox’s Chris Aronson told the press that “we remain committed to these characters and we have a lot to look forward to in our Marvel universe.” At the time, the previously planned Fantastic Four 2 was still locked in for June 9, 2017. However, that’s no longer the case.

Multiple reports have confirmed that Fantastic Four 2 has been pulled from Fox’s upcoming release calendar. That means that we probably won’t see another Fantastic Four movie with Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, and Toby Kebbell as the primary cast.

However, the disappointing returns from Fantastic Four don’t mean that the film rights will automatically revert to Marvel Studios. Under the terms of the deal, Fox is believed to have at least seven years to make another Fantastic Four movie to prevent the reversion of the property. Even after the poor reception, Fox won’t give up on the hope of building a franchise around the characters. And the studio certainly won’t let the rights slip away without getting something in return.

There are at least three potential strategies that Fox could pursue with the Fantastic Four. The easiest would be to try again with another reboot, another director, and another new cast. But there’s no guarantee that the results would be any different. The second option would be to follow Sony’s example and strike a deal with Marvel Studios to allow the next Fantastic Four movie to be a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, without giving up the rights to the films themselves. The third option would be to simply allow Disney/Marvel to write a big check and buy back the rights to the characters. As much as hardcore Marvel fans might want that to happen, it’s the least likely scenario of the three.

Marvel fans, what do you want to see in the next Fantastic Four movie? And what do you think will be the fate of the franchise? Board the Fantasticar and share your opinions below!

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HT: Box Office Mojo

Image Credit: 20th Century Fox/Marvel