The Fantastic Four: First Steps is being made part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the Multiverse Saga, and here’s everything there is to know about this reboot. The more the MCU expands, the more opportunities emerge to bring more Marvel Comics characters to life, as well as to give a new chance to characters whose previous adaptations weren’t exactly a success. The Disney/Fox merge now gives Marvel the chance to use popular characters from Fox’s Marvel movies to make them part of the MCU timeline, and among them are the Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four got their first film adaptation in 1994, in a project that has become infamous as it was never released, and their proper big-screen debut didn’t happen until 2005. The team got the reboot treatment in 2015 in a movie simply titled Fantastic Four and directed by Josh Trank. Unfortunately, Fantastic Four was a massive critical and commercial failure, but the team is getting one more chance, now as part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Phase 6 slate, and here’s what’s known so far about the MCU Fantastic Four reboot.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Latest News
The July 2024 San Diego Comic-Con provided the most recent updates regarding the upcoming Fantastic Four movie, including revealing its new title of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The announcement of this title almost immediately led to a slew of theories about what it would mean for the film, including some speculation that it could be an allusion to Reed and Sue’s children, Franklin and Valeria.
The Marvel Comic-Con panel also provided a teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, showing Reed Richards speaking to a classroom about science and The Thing on a dating show, cementing the idea that the movie will focus on the heroes after their origin story and subsequent transformations. The footage also came with a first glimpse of the MCU iteration of Galactus, though only the character’s eyes can be shown as he looks into a building through a window.
Other than this, the latest updates for the MCU Fantastic Four movie involve several new castings, many of which are not yet tied to a specific role. Natasha Lyonne is the most recent actor to join the project, though her role remains unknown. Earlier in May, Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich were both confirmed for the project in undisclosed roles. Breaking the trend of secret roles, Ralph Ineson was confirmed to be playing Galactus on May 9. Before that, it was announced that Julia Garner will be playing Shalla-Bal, a version of the Silver Surfer, in the film’s cast.
Prior to that, the main news for the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie was the official casting for the main team of the film, with Marvel revealing in February 2024 via social media post that “Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.” Deadline also reported in February 2024 that the Fantastic Four movie will release on July 25 2025, swapping release dates with Thunderbolts*, which is now set to release May 2 2025.
Key Revelations From The Fantastic Four Cast Announcement
The Fantastic Four will be set in the 1960s.
Sidekick robot H.E.R.B.I.E. will appear.
The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) will have a very comics accurate appearance.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Release Date
The Fantastic Four movie is set to release July 25 2025, putting it relatively squarely in the middle of the Multiverse Saga. This comes 6 years after initial announcements for the MCU film, as the Fantastic Four were confirmed to arrive at the MCU in 2019, during Marvel’s panel at San Diego Comic-Con. In December 2020, Jon Watts was announced as director, though in April 2022, he stepped down to take a break from directing superhero films after helming the MCU’s Spider-Man trilogy.
During the 2022 D23 event, Matt Shakman was confirmed as the new director of Fantastic Four, and at the time of writing, the project is scheduled for a May 2, 2025 release, meaning the Fantastic Four will join the MCU during the final chapter of the Multiverse Saga.
Why The Fantastic Four Debut In Marvel’s Phase 6
Most of the MCU’s Phase 5 and what has been revealed of Phase 6 so far have gone through various changes due to production delays, narrative restructures, and the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes. What hasn’t changed, however, is The Fantastic Four: First Steps kicking off the MCU’s Phase 6, which might seem like a late introduction for such a big and popular team, but it makes sense within the MCU’s narrative.
Fantastic Four will skip the team’s origin story and will introduce them as an active team, and they are believed to be set up as a big multiverse presence for either Avengers: The Kang Dynasty or Avengers: Secret Wars, so it makes sense that their movie is the one that marks the beginning of the end of the Multiverse Saga.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Cast
On February 14, 2024, Marvel confirmed its main Fantastic Four movie cast on X, showing a post with the caption, “Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.” The image shared alongside it confirms Pascal will be Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play Ben Grimm. These casting confirmations are sure to delight audiences, as each of these actors have been popular fancasts for the roles.
March 3, 2024, also saw the reveal that the Silver Surfer would be Shalla-Bal in the MCU, seemingly instead of Norrin Radd, who is traditionally the main Silver Surfer in the comics. This came alongside the news that Julia Garner will be playing Shalla-Bal – a decision that seems well made given her performances in series like Ozark. Notably, this will not be the first time Garner has appeared in a comic book movie, as she also featured in Sin City: A Dame To Kill For as Marcie.
On May 2, it was announced that Paul Walter Hauser will play a hitherto undisclosed part in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Later, on May 9, John Malkovich and Ralph Ineson were also confirmed for the project. Malkovich’s role remains a mystery, but Ineson will play the iconic Fantastic Four villain Galactus. The newest addition to The Fantastic Four cast is Natasha Lyonne. However, she continues the trend of undisclosed roles and is not yet tied to a character.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Story Predictions
So far, the only firmly established detail about The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ plot is the setting: the Life magazine issue The Thing is reading is from 1963, establishing a period piece. Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige confirmed that the movie is a period piece in June 2024 on The Official Marvel Podcast, while also addressing the theories that the film takes place in an alternate universe, stating:
“Yes, yes, very much so. It is a period… There were a lot of smart people, who noticed that that cityscape didn’t look exactly like the New York that we know, or the New York that existed in the ’60s in our world. And those are smart observations, I’ll say.”
That also explains where Marvel’s First Family have been for the rest of the MCU, though the positioning of The Fantastic Four leading into the next Avengers event suggests that they may be brought to the present by a multiverse plot. Either way, a 1960s retro-futuristic vibe will provide a very unique atmosphere for the MCU movie.
Marvel is well-known for keeping details about its movies a secret until the very last minute, and in the case of its Fantastic Four reboot, it seems to be especially careful with casting and plot details. As mentioned above, it has been confirmed by Kevin Feige himself that the MCU’s Fantastic Four won’t be an origin story, but that’s all that’s known about the plot so far.
Fantastic Four’s villain appears to be Galactus, though it seems likely a smaller-scale antagonist is also present for a more tangible threat. With the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con revealing that Robert Downey Jr. will be appearing as Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday as the focal villain of the story, it seems more likely than ever that the many rumors and theories pointing at The Fantastic Four: First Steps introducing the MCU’s version of Doctor Doom could become a reality, allowing the Fantastic Four to meet their comic nemesis in their cinematic universe debut.
Director Matt Shakman even mentioned in an interview with Collider that, “I have heard about it for a while, and I had to keep that secret for a while.” This would support the idea that Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom plays a role in some capacity within The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and that the film’s story may be used to set the stage for Avengers: Doomsday, which releases less than a year later.
With the Fantastic Four confirmed to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, it would make sense to introduce the conflict between the hero group and the villain from the offset of their stories. Approaching things from this perspective can help the MCU to establish a dynamic that will surely play a vital role in the future of the Multiverse Saga.
Since Doom hasn’t had the same time to be set up as an antagonist due to Avengers 5 originally being Avengers: The Kang Dynasty – and thus the Multiverse Saga previously revolving around Kang – this route allows a core arc based around key figures to emerge. Having the Fantastic Four explain how much of a threat Doctor Doom is would work well to set him up as an imposing villain in a shorter amount of time, and a clash between Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic and Robert Downey Jr’s Doctor Doom has inherent star power to draw fans in.
With all of this said, plot details about The Fantastic Four: First Steps surely won’t be revealed until the movie’s release date is close. Even then, many details will remain a secret as there surely will be some twists and turns that are best kept under wraps until the movie is released.
