02/04/25 - The News

Tuesday, February 4, 2025

Fantastic Four’ Trailer: Pedro Pascal Leads Invisible Woman, Human Torch and the Thing in Retro MCU Debut

February 04, 2025 0

 The film stars Pedro Pascal (“The Last of Us”) as Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (“Napoleon”) as the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (“Stranger Things) as the Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (“The Bear”) as the Thing. The cast also includes Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne and John Malkovich.


This version of the Fantastic Four will take place in a retro-futuristic 1960s Manhattan. Feige confirmed on “The Official Marvel Podcast” that the film will be a period piece set in New York City, although he said that it may not be the same New York City fans are familiar with in the MCU.

Two previous iterations of the Fantastic Four hit the big screen through 20th Century Fox before Disney acquired the company and worked toward bringing Marvel’s First Family to the MCU. In the 2000s, Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis played the heroes in two movies, then a disastrous 2015 reboot brought in Miles Teller, Kata Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell. Through a clever cameo role in “Deadpool & Wolverine,” Evans, now better known as the MCU’s Captain America, reprised his Human Torch role before being brutally killed off. In “Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness,” John Krasinski briefly appeared as Mister Fantastic before meeting a similar fate.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is directed by Matt Shakman (“WandaVision”) and written by a Peter Cameron, Josh Friedman and Jeff Kaplan. Kevin Feige will serve as producer, Jess Hall is the cinematographer and Michael Giacchino composes the score.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” will be released in theaters on July 25.

Watch the trailer below.

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What is the Sovereign Wealth Fund, and could it buy TikTok?

February 04, 2025 0

 While you still can't download TikTok from either Apple's App Store or Google's Play mobile storefront, President Donald Trump wants to make sure the American government can profit from it whenever the app returns.


To do so, Trump signed an executive order creating the U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund. But could Trump also use it to purchase the banned social media platform? Here's what we know.

What is the sovereign wealth fund?

Donald Trump signed an executive order earlier this week establishing the first-ever federal sovereign wealth fund.

A sovereign wealth fund is a government-owned fund that includes investments in foreign assets, typically stocks, bonds, real estate and technology.

Singer and songwriter Andi Mitchell boasts more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok.
Singer and songwriter Andi Mitchell boasts more than 1.3 million followers on TikTok.

Could the federal government use the sovereign wealth fund to buy TikTok?

In the case of TikTok, the U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund could be used to purchase the American assets of TikTok from the platform's Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

Donald Trump didn't explicitly say the fund would be used to purchase TikTok, but did hint that a development was in the works regarding the sale of the social media app.

TikTok still unavailable; no timetable on return

On his first day back in office, President Donald Trump signed an executive order that postponed the ban on TikTok, which was implemented by former President Joe Biden last year.

Trump's order granted a 75-day extension, but on January 18, TikTok went dark, becoming unusable on mobile devices and desktops.

The platform was also wiped from American mobile app stores.

TikTok was restored the next day for users who didn’t delete the app. But if you have already deleted the app from your phone, you will not have the option to restore it while the ban is in effect.

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