According to a new theory, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine could have teased the return of a classic Marvel actor as a formidable villain who could pose a huge problem to the new Fantastic Four team in the MCU. 2024’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine was a transformative moment for the MCU, introducing Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman’s antiheroes to the franchise and marking the canonization of Fox’s X-Men franchise. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine also brought back several classic Marvel actors to battle Emma Corrin’s Cᴀssandra Nova, which might have set up exciting new stories and characters for the MCU’s future.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine partnered its тιтular antiheroes with Wesley Snipes’ Blade, Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Dafne Keen’s X-23 and Channing Tatum’s Gambit, bringing back some unexpected heroes from Marvel’s movie history. This Resistance team proved essential in helping ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool and Wolverine escape the Void and save the former’s reality of Earth-10005, but they weren’t completely alone. ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine also included one perfect returning character and might have hinted at a tragic fate for another former hero, who could now become a powerful supervillain in the MCU.

ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Revisited 2005’s Fantastic Four Team

Chris Evans Return As Johnny Storm Canonized 2005’s Fantastic Four Movie & Its Sequel

As well as revisiting characters from the Blade trilogy, Daredevil and Elektra, and Fox’s X-Men franchise itself, ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine also marked the return of Chris Evans as Johnny Storm’s Human Torch from 2005’s Fantastic Four movie and its 2007 sequel. It was brilliant to see Evans reprise his two-decade-old role, even if this was only short-lived, as he was skinned alive by Cᴀssandra Nova. While not addressed in the Phase 5 movie, Johnny Storm’s solo return could have teased a terrible fate for the rest of his classic Fantastic Four team.

Since Chris Evans’ Human Torch was pruned and sent to the Void at the End of Time by the TVA, the Time Variance Authority presumably also pruned the rest of 2005’s Fantastic Four team. This means Michael Chiklis’ Thing, Jessica Alba’s Invisible Woman and Ioan Gruffudd’s Mister Fantastic could have also ended up in the Void. They were nowhere to be seen in ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine, however, which implies they may have met the same fate as Johnny Storm, though a new MCU theory suggests otherwise for one doomed classic hero.

Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards Becomes The Maker In Tragic ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine Theory

Ioan Gruffudd Debuted As Reed Richards In 2005’s Fantastic Four

Marvel Comics’ Ultimate Universe formed the inspiration behind Miles Teller’s Reed Richards in 2015’s Fantastic Four reboot, which spurred speculation that Teller could return to the MCU as the Maker, the twisted and villainous version of Mister Fantastic. While this is still possible, a new theory shared by Reddit user Possible-Rate-3833 suggests that Marvel Studios could actually reintroduce Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards as the Maker. Following ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine and the insinuation that his Fantastic Four team is all ᴅᴇᴀᴅ, this may be even more likely.

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Ioan Gruffudd’s version of Reed Richards was fairly comic-accurate, and therefore didn’t display some of the Maker’s more sinister and nefarious traits. However, being pruned to the Void and watching his whole family be killed by Cᴀssandra Nova would clearly be enough to push Gruffudd’s Mister Fantastic over the edge, transforming him into a bitter and jaded antagonist. It could be this version of Reed Richards who has a twisted relationship with Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom, which means Gruffudd could reprise the role in Doomsday and Secret Wars, but could also be a new long-running villain.

The Maker Would Be The Perfect Villain For Future Fantastic Four Movies After First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps Will Be A Strong Debut To The New MCU Team

The Fantastic Four: First Steps, scheduled to be released on July 25, 2025, will be debuting a brand-new Fantastic Four team in live-action, and will bring Marvel’s First Family back to its 1960s-inspired roots. After debuting in an alternate, retro-futuristic reality, however, the Fantastic Four team is expected to be joining the MCU’s main continuity, which means they will be crossing paths with some modern-day antagonists, too. Following First Steps, and perhaps even after Avengers: Secret Wars, it would be great to see the Fantastic Four battle the Maker, especially if Ioan Gruffudd reprises the role.

Ioan Gruffudd’s Reed Richards has been praised in the years since Fantastic Four’s release, so it would be great to see him bring something new and much more intense to his iconic role. As the Maker, Gruffudd’s Reed Richards could be introduced to the MCU as the perfect dark mirror and anтιтhesis to Pedro Pascal’s upcoming Mister Fantastic, so he’d be the perfect villain for future Fantastic Four movies in the MCU. After ᴅᴇᴀᴅpool & Wolverine brought these classic Fantastic Four movies into the MCU’s canon, this would be a strong future for Gruffudd’s popular Reed Richards.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  MCU Spider-Man 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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