Fantastic Four doesn’t take place in the same world as the Avengers. It’s set on Earth-828 across the Marvel multiverse, and the director had a good reason for keeping them separate.
When Disney bought 20th Century Fox, fans were excited to see its catalog of superheroes (F4, X-Men, Deadpool, and others) enter the MCU.
However, many people had the same question: how will the franchise explain where they’ve been all this time? In the case of the Fantastic Four, they’ve never been here – they’ve been somewhere else.
As explained by Matt Shakman, they’re the protectors of Earth-828, an alternate universe within the MCU. While they’ll inevitably crossover in Avengers: Doomsday, the director wanted to avoid fans asking another question.
Fantastic Four director explains Earth-828 setting
During an appearance at the BFI IMAX in London ahead of the film’s release, Shakman was asked why he chose a ’60s setting and aesthetic for Fantastic Four.
“The answer is pretty simple, which is that these characters were created in the ’60s by Jack Kirby and Stan Lee,” he said.
“They were created in this time of optimism and the Space Race. People were dreaming of the stars, imagining conquering the unknown, and that’s what the Fantastic Four is all about.”
By putting the team in the ’60s, Shakman said they were closer to their “point of origin.” However, there was never any temptation to explore their pasts within the main MCU universe (Earth-616, not Earth-199999).
“We didn’t want them to be on this Earth with the other Marvel characters, because… where were they when Thanos came, right?” Shakman continued.
“They would have helped out. They would have solved the problem then. So, we put them on a different Earth – Earth-828 – a different part of the Marvel universe.”
Fun fact, Jack Kirby was born on August 28 – or, in the American format of dates, 8/28, so it’s a clear nod to the co-creator.
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