When does Fantastic Four take place in the MCU timeline?

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With Fantastic Four, Marvel’s first family will finally arrive in the MCU – but their place in the franchise’s timeline is a bit more complicated.

In 2019, Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, absorbing all of its superhero assets, including the X-Men, Deadpool, and the Fantastic Four.

The latter team is incredibly important to the heritage of Marvel; after all, they’re known as the comic company’s “first family.” However, their on-screen legacy is… a bit rubbish (and that’s putting it kindly, especially if you’re talking about the 2015 reboot).

This summer, they’re (hopefully) getting the movie they’ve always deserved with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s kicking off Phase Six of the MCU, and if you’re confused about when and how it fits into the timeline, this is a breakdown of when it’s set.

When Fantastic Four is set in the MCU

Marvel

Fantastic Four takes place in the 1960s. However, we don’t know exactly which year it’s set – and, more importantly, it’s in another universe altogether.

Kevin Feige has been open about this since the earliest marketing for the film. “Yes, yes, very much so. It is a period,” he told Marvel’s podcast.

“There were a lot of smart people, who noticed that that cityscape didn’t look exactly like the New York that we know, or that existed in the ’60s in our world. Those are smart observations, I’ll say.”

During an appearance at the BFI IMAX in London ahead of the film’s release, director Matt Shakman was asked why he chose a ’60s setting and aesthetic for Fantastic Four.