Fantastic Four 3 concept art is here, imagining what could have been. Released in 2005, Fantastic Four marked the first major adaptation of the iconic Marvel superhero team, with Chris Evans as Johnny Storm, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm, Ioan Gruffudd as Reed Richards, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm. The film got a sequel with Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), but a planned third installment ended up being scrapped. Concept art by renowned Marvel and DC concept artist and character designer Jerad S. Marantz now imagines what Fantastic Four 3 may have looked like. The art shows Marvel’s first family leaping into action and features some major appearance changes. Reed and Sue have upgraded suits, The Thing has been bulked up, and the Human Torch now has a blue flair to his flame trail. Check out the art below:

​​​​​”Here’s a group shot from that canceled Fantastic Four project,” Marantz writes in his caption. “I also got to design Johnny, Sue and Reed. Fun show!” Both of the mid-2000s Fantastic Four movies were met with a lackluster critical reception. On Rotten Tomatoes, the 2005 film has only a 28% from critics, while the 2007 sequel has 38%. It was primary declining box office that led to the third movie being scrapped, however. Fantastic Four grossed $333.5 million worldwide, but Rise of the Silver Surfer grossed only $301 million. With a budget of around $130 million, the sequel could have been looking at a break-even point of $325 million, making it a notable disappointment.

Jessica Alba’s Sue Storm and Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm in Fantastic Four uniforms standing in a hall in 2007’s Rise of the Silver Surfer

Instead of proceeding with a third film, which the cast were contractually attached to, Fox opted to let the franchise sit for a few years before then rebooting it. 2015’s Fantastic Four introduced new actors for Marvel’s first family, including Miles Teller, Michael B. Jordan, Kate Mara, and Jamie Bell. The film was a major flop, however, grossing just $167 million worldwide and earning scathing reviews. Though it appeared that Evans’ time as Johnny Storm ended in 2007, the actor did make a surprise return as the character for a cameo in the multiverse-spanning Deadpool & Wolverine (2004). It’s likely that Evans’ time as Storm is now truly over, though, since The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduced an entirely new take on the titular team in 2025, with Joseph Quinn taking on Evans’ old role.

Evans still has some runway left as a superhero, though. The actor is now far better known for portraying Captain America in the MCU, a role he seemingly bid farewell to in 2019’s Avengers: Endgame. Now, he’s set to return to face off against Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday, which is due out on December 18. This upcoming Avengers movie will also feature the new Fantastic Four team, meaning Evans, as Steve Rogers, may actually get face time with Quinn’s Johnny, which could make for an interesting “passing of the torch” moment (pun intended). In any case, the Fantastic Four 3 concept art above remains an intriguing look at what could have been.

Video Game(s)

Fantastic Four (1997), Fantastic Four (2005)

First Film

The Fantastic Four

Cast

Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, Michael Chiklis, Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan, Jamie Bell, Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach

Created by

Stan Lee, Jack Kirby