Spider-Man: Homecoming director Jon Watts will helm the recently announced Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the Fantastic Four. However, while the Fantastic Four reboot will likely focus on establishing Marvel's First Family in their own right, the studios' choice of director will likely establish one of Marvel Comics' oldest friendships.
Spider-Man has long been best friends with fellow young hero, the Human Torch. The two have gone on countless adventures, and Peter even trusts Johnny with his secret identity. So, with no one else his age to fight crime with, Spidey and the Human Torch being besties in the MCU makes more sense than ever.
SPIDER-MAN AND HUMAN TORCH IN THE COMICS
Spider-Man first met the Human Torch and the rest of the Fantastic Four back in The Amazing Spider-Man #1, but the two young heroes weren't exactly crazy about each other at first. Peter's attempt to join the team involved breaking into the Baxter Building, which didn't endear them to liking him. Later, Peter would consider giving up the identity of Spider-Man, but he's roused to stay a hero when he hears an inspirational speech from Johnny Storm. Their rivalry would soon begin to soften, with the heroes seeking each other out for help and even hanging out around the Empire State Building.
Johnny would end up being one of the first heroes with whom Peter would share his secret identity with, which strangely enough caused Johnny to become jealous of his friend's otherwise normal life. This made their bond closer than ever, with the two treating each other as brothers, warts and all. Peter and Johnny would even become roommates for a time, though the latter's slovenly nature brought this arrangement to an end. At the end of the day, however, their friendship has been one of the oldest and the strongest in Marvel, and it's past time that it comes to the big screen.
ADAPTING MARVEL'S ICONIC FRIENDSHIP
The biggest reason for bringing this friendship to the big screen is that, despite its importance in the comics, it's very rarely been featured in other media. Spider-Man and the Torch interacted in the adaptation of Secret Wars in Spider-Man: The Animated Series and Spidey participated in friendly races against him in the Ultimate Spider-Man video game, but outside of this, not many adaptations have developed their close bond from the comics. With the MCU being praised for largely adapting the comics in some way, with particular attention being given to Silver Age Spider-Man comics to excuse the character's youth in the universe, it would only be logical to bring in this element of the characters' mutual history.
On top of that, there aren't any other teen heroes in the MCU movies. Sure, there are several TV series' on their way about young superheroes like Ms. Marvel, but the stars of the movies are all still adults. Having someone Peter's age would allow him to have someone to relate to and not just look up to, as was the case with Iron Man. It helps that Peter's friendship with Johnny actually has a strong basis in the comics, unlike his hero worship for Iron Man. With Spider-Man's role in the MCU potentially getting bigger, there's definitely enough room for his hot-headed BFF.
Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four film does not yet have a cast or release date.