Fandango has released its list of the most anticipated movies this summer, and the film claiming the top spot may surprise you. The Top 10 list is filled with familiar franchises and superhero fare, from Marvel to DC to Mission: Impossible to John Wick to Jurassic World, just to name a few. One would assume that big-budget remakes of Fantastic Four and Superman would fight it out for box office dominance, but a surprising contender has risen to the top to be the #1 film on the minds of moviegoers for the summer. But that doesn’t mean these superhero films are far behind, still making it into the Top 5.

The Top 10 Most Anticipated Summer Movies in Fandango’s list is led by Jurassic World Rebirth, followed by The Fantastic Four: First Steps in second place, Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning in third place, Superman in fourth place, and Thunderbolts* in fifth place. The list is rounded out by From The World of John Wick: Ballerina in sixth place, 28 Years Later in seventh place, How to Train Your Dragon in eighth place, Lilo & Stitch in ninth place, and Freakier Friday in tenth place. You can check out the full list below.

The top 10 most anticipated summer movies are:

1. Jurassic World Rebirth
2. The Fantastic Four: First Steps
3. Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning
4. Superman
5. Thunderbolts*
6. From The World of John Wick: Ballerina
7. 28 Years Later
8. How to Train Your Dragon
9. Lilo & Stitch
10. Freakier Friday

These results come from Fandango’s annual Moviegoing Trends & Insights Study as the industry gears up for CinemaCon, running March 31-April 3 in Las Vegas. The online movie ticketing service surveyed over 5,000 moviegoers and split them between Loyal Moviegoers — those who saw five or more movies in theaters in 2024 — and Casual Moviegoers — those who saw fewer than four movies in theaters in 2024.

“As consumers’ appetite and interests continue to evolve, understanding moviegoing behaviors is essential to find new areas of opportunity and help drive industry growth,” said Jerramy Hainline, EVP of Fandango. “With a diverse slate of upcoming films, from superhero epics to action thrillers to cult classic sequels, this summer is proving to have something for all movie fans.”

[RELATED: Superman Star Teases What James Gunn Movie Is Really About (and It Sounds Perfect)]

Loyal Moviegoers made up 41% of the survey sample, seeing an average of 10 movies in 2024. The statistics say they are most likely to be millennials or Gen X, and most likely male. Casual Moviegoers represented 59% of the survey sample, saw an average of two movies in 2024, and are likely to be Gen Z and female. 

It may come as a surprise that neither The Fantastic Four: First Steps or Superman is the most anticipated movie for Summer 2025. Comic book fans like to think that the world revolves around their favorite heroes, but apparently, that isn’t the case. The Jurassic Park/Jurassic World franchise continues to churn out films that audiences look forward to.

Jurassic World Rebirth is something of a soft reboot for the franchise. Its narrative takes place five years after the events of 2022’s disappointing and critically panned Jurassic World Dominion. Directed by Gareth Edwards, the film stars Scarlett Johansson, Jonathan Bailey, Mahershala Ali, Rupert Friend, Manuel Garcia-Rulfo, Luna Blaise, David Iacono, and Audrina Miranda.

Jurassic World Rebirth hits theaters on July 2nd. Let us know what your most anticipated movie of Summer 2025 is in the comments below!

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Pedro Pascal and Isabela Merced are having a friendly rivalry for their upcoming superhero movies, The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman, respectively. This summer will see Marvel and DC compete outside of comics with the release of new Fantastic Four and Superman films. Both movies reboot their respective properties and feature stars of HBO’s The Last of Us in central roles. Pedro Pascal leads The Last of Us as Joel, with Isabela Merced joining Season 2 as Dina. Pascal is also playing Fantastic Four leader Reed Richards, and Merced suits up as Hawkgirl in Superman. But which superhero film will dominate at the box office? Let’s find out from the stars themselves.

The stars of The Last of Us are out doing press in anticipation of Season 2. After Isabela Merced discussed her new character Dina, she transitioned into promoting Superman and The Fantastic Four: First Steps both coming out this summer. “See you this summer!” Pedro Pascal teased his The Last of Us co-star, with Merced jokingly responding, “I hate you!”

[RELATED: Superman Star Teases What James Gunn Movie Is Really About (and It Sounds Perfect)]

The Last of Us announced Isabela Merced’s addition to Season 2 as Dina in January 2024. For those who haven’t played The Last of Us Part II, Dina is a new love interest for Ellie and travels with her throughout her latest adventure. She’s also the ex of Jesse, which makes for an interesting and complicated situation that plays out between Dina, Ellie, and Jesse. 

“Dina is warm, brilliant, wild, funny, moral, dangerous and instantly lovable,” said showrunners Craig Mazin and Neil Druckmann in a joint statement. “You can search forever for an actor who effortlessly embodies all of those things, or you can find Isabela Merced right away. We couldn’t be prouder to have her join our family.”

Merced previously spoke of her role in The Last of Us and called out how Dina is the only character who gets a decent ending. “[TLOU’s Dina is] sort of a light in Ellie’s life, in Ellie’s world. I think that’s the general consensus, because you look at the video game, too, and she is really the only one who actually gets sort of a decent ending,” Merced told Total Film. “Everyone else gets kind of screwed or dies!”

[RELATED: Will Marvel and DC Movies Ever Cross Over? (And Should They?)]

As for Merced’s starring role as Hawkgirl in Superman, she teased what fans can expect from Hawkgirl’s superhero costume. “Well, there have been some leaked pictures online,” Merced told Deadline. “However, I think James [Gunn] knows what he wants, and this specific suit is for this specific timeline in the story. I don’t know what else I can say, but I gotta say, the helmet was my absolute favorite. It’s so sick. It’s so badass. It’s perfect.” 

Fans finally got to see Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards in the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in February. Concept art for Fantastic Four and Avengers: Doomsday made its way online, featuring a more comics-accurate look at Reed Richards. Pedro Pascal has a trademark mustache, but was missing Mister Fantastic’s signature white sideburns in the FF trailer. However, the leaked concept art featured Pascal ditching his mustache for the white sideburns fans have come to love.

Which superhero movie are you looking forward to the most between The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Superman? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below!

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Jonathan Majors is still in the midst of a comeback tour attempt, following his very public and scandalous accusation, trial, and ultimate “guilty” conviction for domestic assault and harassment against an ex-girlfriend. In 2023, Disney and Marvel Studios made the bold move of firing Majors from the Marvel Cinematic Universe franchise – an actor that Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige had once claimed was carrying the entire MCU “Multiverse Saga” on shoulders: “I said to him there’s nobody’s shoulders I’d rather be putting the multiverse saga on than his,” Feige told ComicBook back in 2022.

Well, since being dropped from his role as Kang the Conqueror – a reality-conquering warlord of the Marvel Multiverse and all his mad variants – Majors has managed to preserve his career in Hollywood, with his long-awaited star vehicle, Magazine Dreams, now set to hit theaters. With the buzz Majors is getting from the film, it’s looking like his future as an actor may not be as doomed as many predicted. So what does that mean for Disney and Marvel Studios, who already have a track record of re-hiring controversial figures after some bad controversy has passed them by (see: James Gunn)?

In his latest interview with Complex, Majors addressed where things stand with him and Marvel – specifically with his former colleagues and castmates from the franchise. When asked about whether or not he still hears from any of the other MCU stars, directors, or producers, Majors demurred a bit, before revealing that the low-key still maintains some of those relationships:

“Well, now we get into the world of like, ‘Ooh, ooh, ooh, ooh.’ Yeah. The answer is yes. Directors, castmates. Definitely. I got congratulations from a few of them,” Majors explained. “A couple days ago when the Magazine Dreams trailer came out. I had a really nice one from a really cool buddy. His last name is “Man.” But no, they’ve been around in our quiet vestibules of communication where no one can be targeted or shamed for communication with me.”

But while Jonathan Majors may still get acknowledgment from some of the other actors in the MCU franchise, the same cannot be said for the man in charge: Kevin Feige.

“I really respect the man, and what he’s trying to do is extremely difficult. He literally is the architect, and he trusted me and he gave me a job. He changed my life,” Majors said in regards to Feige. “My letter to him, I won’t go into the details, but it was just to let him know, ‘I appreciate you,’ and ‘I know this is hard,’ and ‘I’m here if you need me.’ But he’s got a million other things going on. So it was like a little flare.”

[RELATED: Avengers: Doomsday Directors Want The MCU to Get Back to Connective Stories]

Majors went on to say that this letter was the last bit of communication he’s had with Kevin Feige, as the Marvel Studios never responded. “But what are you going to do? That’s all I needed,” Majors explained. “There are no question marks in the message. I wasn’t asking him to do anything. I was just letting him know, ‘Hey, man, I understand. I feel you.’ I love Marvel. Love, love, love, love, love Kang and all my variants.”

Majors appeared in both seasons of Marvel’s Loki Disney+ series, as well as making his big screen debut as Kang in Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. That threequel ended with the promise that an entire army of Kangs from across the multiverse had gathered and were prepared to wage war – how the MCU intends to pivot away from that story arc, remains to be seen. There’s even been some speculation that Marvel has been kicking the proverbial can down the road until it can be seen if Magazine Dreams catapults Majors back onto a trajectory toward stardom, free of the shadow of his legal troubles. If Majors gets to that point, then some (cynical) fans believe that Marvel Studios would possibly re-hire him to play out his arc as Kang.

Would Jonathan Majors be willing to work with Marvel Studios again, after everything that happened? In his own words: he would:

“Yeah. I mean, yeah, of course. I just love acting. I love the stories. I love the worlds that they build. That’s the beauty of being a part of, at least while I was there, they made a couple pictures since I’ve been gone. But Loki, season one, season two, we built incredible worlds. I’ve kept my eye out to see what’s going on, how it’s going. I still care about ’em. I’m still tracking it. But yeah, of course. Of course. I’ll take a cape, right? Bring the green screens back.”

It’s hard to gauge the shade level of that final comment about the green screens, but it seems as though Majors is still willing to play ball with Marvel Studios.

That said, this interview is coming out in the same week that Majors is back in the spotlight of scandal and backlash, after alleged audio leaked of him admitting to the physical assault he committed against ex-girlfriend Grace Jabbari. Given the level of vitriol Majors is once-again receiving, his willingness to spin the block with Marvel may be very one-sided…

The MCU continues with Daredevil: Born Again now streaming on Disney+. Thunderbolts* will be released in theaters on May 6th.

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Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to kick off Phase Six in July, beginning the march toward Secret Wars and introducing Marvel’s First Family to the MCU party for the first time. The first look at the cast was revealed around a year ago for a Valentine’s Day surprise, showing their looks in the movie with a festive bit of art. We then got a trailer ahead of the Super Bowl, revealing even more of the team in the flesh – or stone in Ben Grimm’s case. These also confirmed that H.E.R.B.I.E. will be debuting alongside the team, but that’s an issue for another time.

Reed Richards first made an MCU appearance in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness back in 2022, played in brief, spaghetti fashion by John Krasinski. But for his first proper appearance, Pedro Pascal will play the official Reed Richards going forward and seems to be breaking from the traditions of the character due to the actor’s now-trademark mustache.

But with the recent release of concept art for the film, and the reported leak of concept art for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, fans got a look at the Mr. Fantastic we’ve come to expect from the Marvel Universe.

The Classic Look

Most fans likely see the Alex Ross interpretation of the character, based on Russell Johnson from Gilligan’s Island and a realistic attempt at Jack Kirby’s original. But he has sported some different looks in recent years, with the bearded Krasinski edition mirroring the Secret Wars look for Richards.

But in the leaked Marvel concept art, Pascal ditches his mustache in some instances and showcases the white sideburns, easily embodying the super genius that has been a Marvel staple for decades. Pascal might look more like himself in the trailer, but the concept art proves he is more than just a great actor who is popular at the moment. He was built for the role.

All that is left is to see how Mr. Fantastic’s powers look on screen. In Multiverse of Madness, we only see Krasinski’s version turn stretchy in his demise. Past film adaptations have proven this is one of the toughest powers to get right on screen. A major difference this time around is the care Marvel has taken with this new film. Granted, it’s noteworthy that this concept art was in all likelihood drawn well before production began on the film, meaning Pascal without a mustache could just be something that was used in the art and not the final product.

[RELATED – 10 Fantastic Four Stories Perfect for MCU Fans]

The film already has hit a home run with its Ben Grimm representation and seems poised to demonstrate just how cool Sue Storm’s superpowers can be. Not to mention, we’ll also be seeing Silver Surfer and Galactus on the opposing side of the film and a post-credits introduction for Dr. Doom. The stakes couldn’t be higher, which is odd for a movie that looks like the heir to Richard Donner’s Superman.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will land in theaters on July 25, 2025. The team is set to become a major part of the MCU going forward.

What do you think? Will The Fantastic Four: First Steps impress fans? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section!

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Marvel and DC have announced they are going to start crossing over again, which is huge news for comic book fans. Fans love to see the heroes of their favorite universes together, getting answers to nerdy questions like who would win a fight or how well so and so would work together. However, this announcement says a lot more than it seems; Marvel and DC crossing over is more than just Marvel and DC crossing over, it’s Disney and Warner Bros. Discovery letting Marvel and DC work together. That’s a much bigger deal because it may open the doors for another crossover down the road — one between the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DCU.

Marvel and DC crossing over on the big screen is something that many fans would definitely want. It’s always been a question of if Disney and WBD could actually figure out a way to profit to their heart’s content. This question’s answer had always seemed like it would be “no,” but the fact that they had to come to some agreement to do comic crossovers shows that they may be more willing to work together than anyone ever thought they’d be. Will the MCU and DCU ever have their crossover? Should they ever?

An MCU/DCU Crossover Is too Tantalizing to Pass Up

Right now is an interesting time in the relationship between Marvel and DC’s cinematic output. The MCU is at the weakest it’s ever been. Marvel Studios has finally had a bomb with The Marvels. After some early successes on Disney+, Marvel’s TV output went from must-see to heavily critiqued. Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine were mega-successes, but most of the other MCU movies post-Avengers: Endgame have been disappointing. The loss of James Gunn to DC was a blow, but things do feel like they’re in an upswing, even if it’s only come from the announcements of the return of the Russo brothers and Robert Downey Jr. for Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret War. The MCU is on shaky ground for the first time in a long time, its success judged by each successive movie and the future Avengers films.

Meanwhile, the DCU has been riding a wave of hype and results. Gunn proved adroit with DC in The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, so his announcement as co-head of DC Studios along with Peter Safran made a lot of fans happy. The first project from Gunn and Safran’s DCU — Creature Commandos — was a success with critics and audiences alike, building the hype and faith in this new cinematic DC venture. Superman (2025) is highly anticipated, in the way that MCU movies used to be. The DCU is young, but things already look very, very good for the upstarts.

[RELATED: DC’s Lanterns Series Gives Hal Jordan’s Power Ring a Major DCU Redesign]

Right now, there’s no way that the MCU and DCU should cross over. There’s barely a DCU at all even, and the MCU needs to concentrate on regaining its stature. However, that doesn’t mean that they should never cross over. The DCU is growing quickly and everything so far looks really good. The MCU has the X-Men on the horizon, and is currently bringing in new blood like the Thunderbolts and Fantastic Four. A Superman/Fantastic Four crossover movie? If both are good, everyone would love to see that. The Thunderbolts against Viola Davis’s Amanda Waller? That sounds like a great time. However, both studios really need to put all of their energy into themselves before they ever think of crossing over.

One thing that we haven’t talked about yet is if Disney and WBD would allow it. A comic crossover and a movie crossover are two very different things. Comics might make millions of dollars — either split down the middle or the one who publishes it gets the bigger piece of the pie (which is why they almost always each publish the same number so no one gets more money) — and that’s barely noticed at Disney or WBD. Movies are way more money and a MCU/DCU crossover is potentially a multi-billion-dollar-grossing proposition if it can stick the landing. That’s a lot more money and you best believe that both sides will be doing whatever they can to make sure they get most of that. How would it even work? Which studio would supply the special effects, sound, soundstages, and so on? Who pays for what? The truth of the matter is that there’s a good chance that it will never happen because neither studio is going to budge financially.

The MCU and DCU Should Crossover at Their Strongest

The question of whether the MCU and DCU will cross over is almost certainly no because of the sheer financial logistics of the whole situation. That’s a shame, because a crossover of this nature could be the thing that saves superhero movies at some point down the line. Marvel Studios has wrung a lot of the hype out of superheroes with their formulaic diminishing returns. For every great project, there are several mediocre ones. If the DCU can’t hit correctly and make people excited again, the only thing that could save superhero cinema may be a mega-crossover between the two.

A crossover needs to happen one day, and that’s really all there is to it. There’s too much potential there, too much money to make, and what could be a great movie or series of movies. The insanity of the MCU and the DCU crossing over would break the Internet and would make a lot of people ecstatic. The excitement would be like the old days all over again. Plus, there’s a good chance James Gunn could return to the MCU if such a project happened and everyone should be excited by that. The MCU and the DCU would make great bedfellows, and could change cinema forever with a crossover.

Would you like to see a live-action crossover with the franchises? Let us know in the comments below!

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Leaked concept art from Marvel Studios has revealed exciting new details about Sue Storm’s powers in the upcoming The Fantastic Four: First Steps, suggesting the Invisible Woman may emerge as one of the MCU’s most powerful heroes. While the official trailer already gave fans a taste of the film’s retro-futuristic aesthetic, the concept art by Marvel artist Mushk Rizni showcases Sue’s abilities in ways that exceed anything previously seen in Fantastic Four adaptations. The artwork demonstrates that Marvel Studios fully understands that Sue Storm’s powers extend far beyond mere invisibility, positioning Vanessa Kirby’s character as potentially the team’s most formidable member.

WARNING: Potential spoilers below for The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The concept art portrays Sue Storm utilizing her powers with remarkable versatility and strength. One striking image shows her generating a massive vessel that shields the entire team amid turbulent waters, demonstrating her ability to create structures capable of withstanding immense external pressure while moving independently. Another piece captures a more intimate application of her abilities: Sue creating a small force field to catch her young son Franklin before he falls from a couch. This juxtaposition highlights the raw power and precise control she possesses, capabilities that previous Fantastic Four film adaptations completely underutilized, or ignored.

[RELATED: Fantastic Four: First Steps Concept Art Contains Clever Spider-Man Easter Egg]

The concept art also gives significant attention to the combat applications of Sue’s powers. Several images depict her projecting invisible barriers to deflect incoming fire and even forming shards of energy to launch at enemies. Perhaps most intriguing is artwork showing Sue using her abilities for reconnaissance, creating fields that detect hidden adversaries through walls by manipulating light refraction. This sophisticated application suggests the film will explore the broad applications of her powers rather than treating invisibility as her only meaningful contribution to the team’s arsenal.

What’s the Extent of Sue Storm’s Powers in the Comic Books?

Initially conceived as simply “The Invisible Girl” with limited abilities, Sue has transformed into one of Marvel’s most formidable characters through decades of creative development. Her core powers revolve around two fundamental abilities: invisibility and force field generation, both stemming from her manipulation of light waves and energy fields. These skills have been reimagined dozens of times, with each iteration giving Sue more versatility.

The invisibility aspect of Sue’s powers began as self-concealment but expanded to encompass making others invisible as well. She can bend light around herself or others through control of light refraction, rendering them completely undetectable to the naked eye. This ability works on a spectrum rather than as a binary on/off switch, meaning Sue can create selective invisibility, making only certain parts of objects invisible or creating windows of visibility within otherwise solid surfaces.

Her force field generation became even more flexible as decades went by. These psionic energy constructs can take virtually any shape Sue can imagine, from simple barriers to complex geometric forms. Their resourcefulness allows them to function defensively by blocking attacks, offensively as concussive weapons, or as tools for environmental manipulation. Furthermore, when she concentrates, Sue’s force fields can withstand enormous pressure, energy blasts, and even cosmic-level attacks.

[RELATED: Doomsday Concept Art May Have Revealed a Vision TV Show Cameo]

What makes Sue particularly powerful is the creative application of these seemingly straightforward abilities. By combining her powers in innovative ways, she achieves effects far beyond their basic functions. She can create invisible platforms for transportation, detect unseen threats through force field sensitivity, and even utilize her abilities at the microscopic level with sufficient concentration. Plus, the scientific basis of her powers provides logical extensions that writers have explored with increasingly sophisticated applications over the years.

The recently leaked artwork suggests First Steps may finally give cinematic audiences the truly formidable Sue Storm that comic readers have known for years, not just a supporting character with convenient defensive abilities, but potentially the most powerful member of the Fantastic Four when utilizing her powers to their fullest extent. We’ll know for sure how the MCU version of Sue Storm will fare when The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25th.

What applications of Sue Storm’s powers are you most excited to see on screen? Do you think she’ll become as powerful in the MCU as she’s been in the comics? Share your thoughts below!

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Concept art for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has leaked online alongside images from Avengers: Doomsday, giving fans unexpected insights into Marvel’s upcoming slate. While the Doomsday leaks have generated buzz with glimpses of Doctor Doom and potential character groupings, a seemingly minor detail in the Fantastic Four artwork reveals a major contradiction to what we’ve been told about the film’s setting. This Spider-Man Easter egg, hidden in plain sight, potentially transforms our understanding of how the Fantastic Four’s world connects to the broader Marvel Cinematic Universe. Fans should approach these leaks with caution, as they may contain significant spoilers for both films and beyond.

WARNING: Potential spoilers below for The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The revealing concept art, by Marvel artist Mushk Rizni, depicts Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) using her invisible force field powers to create a protective bubble around her young son Franklin, who is about to fall off a couch. What catches the eye isn’t Sue’s display of power, but Franklin’s clothing: the child is wearing Spider-Man pajamas. This seemingly innocent detail directly contradicts what we’ve been told about the film’s timeline placement within Marvel’s multiverse.

[RELATED: Doomsday Concept Art May Have Revealed a Vision TV Show Cameo]

Director Matt Shakman has repeatedly stated that The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in an alternate timeline with what he calls a “retro-future ’60s” setting. “We’re not just doing the ’60s, we’re doing retro-future ’60s,” Shakman explained at Comic-Con 2024. “It’s part what you know from the 1960s, but part what you’ve never seen before.” This suggested the film was set in an actual 1960s era, albeit one with advanced technology, where the Fantastic Four emerged as Earth’s premier superhero team instead of the Avengers.

However, the presence of Spider-Man merchandise creates an immediate timeline problem. In Marvel’s established continuity, Peter Parker wasn’t born until the early 2000s and only became Spider-Man as a teenager in the modern era. For Spider-Man to exist in the Fantastic Four’s world — let alone be established enough to appear on children’s clothing — their timeline can’t possibly be set in the actual 1960s.

The Spider-Man Easter Egg Reveals the True Nature of First Steps‘ Setting

The Spider-Man pajamas suggest that The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t set in the past at all, but rather in a contemporary alternate universe that simply developed with 1960s Space Age aesthetics and technology. This revelation transforms our understanding of what Shakman meant by “retro-future ’60s.” If the Spider-Man Easter egg was introduced at Marvel Studios’ request, then The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not a period piece set in an alternate 1960s, but a present-day world that evolved along different cultural and technological lines, maintaining retro design sensibilities into the modern era.

This interpretation makes more sense when considering what is shown in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer. While the architecture, fashion, and technology have distinct 1960s inspirations, they’re clearly more advanced than actual 1960s technology, featuring design elements that feel timeless rather than historically accurate. The timeline clarification also explains other elements fans have spotted, such as the structural similarities between the Baxter Building and Avengers Tower. Rather than being separated by decades of architectural evolution, they’re parallel developments in different contemporary timelines, making their resemblance more logical.

[RELATED:  Avengers: Doomsday Artwork Reveals Major Hint About the Fate of the Fantastic Four After First Steps]

Finally, the Easter egg allows other heroes to exist in the Fantastic Four’s universe. If Spider-Man is established enough to have pajamas based on his uniform, other familiar characters might appear as variants unique to this timeline. This creates exciting possibilities for cameos or supporting roles that could further illuminate the differences between this universe and the MCU’s Sacred Timeline.

While concept art doesn’t guarantee what will appear in the final film, this seemingly minor detail is still noteworthy. We’ll learn the truth once The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

Do you think the Spider-Man pajamas are just a playful detail added by the artist without Marvel Studios’ direct input? Or could it mean something more? Would you like to see Avengers variants in The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Join the discussion in the comments!

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From the moment we heard that Doctor Doom was set to be the main antagonist of the upcoming Avengers sequels, it was obvious that the Fantastic Four were destined to answer the call. With the summer blockbuster The Fantastic Four: First Steps coming to theaters this year, it’s no surprise that the movie will set up the events leading to Doomsday, with some suggesting RDJ’s Doctor Doom could make an appearance in a post-credit scene. Victor Von Doom is the Fantastic Four’s arch-enemy, so to venture that as a guess isn’t too much of a stretch. While First Steps might set up Doomsday, it’s not Doom who should be afraid, it is the Fantastic Four who will be. If the leaked Avengers: Doomsday concept art has given us anything, it’s that the fate of this team is looking pretty grim.

Before we take a deep dive into the leaked concept art, we want to give a fair warning about what you are about to see, as these could be potential spoilers in Avengers: Doomsday. As with any leak, these pictures should be taken with a grain of salt, as these could’ve been from earlier in the process or from scenes that have been cut out during pre-production. With this in mind, let’s take a look at what we could expect for the Fantastic Four after the events of First Steps.

RELATED: Is Robert Downey Jr. in The Fantastic Four Reboot?

We aren’t sure of what’s going to happen at the end of First Steps, but many have pointed at the possibility of the team leaving their universe to travel to another timeline, seeing how their confirmation to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and beyond does pose the question of their timeline, which is in the 1960s. Battleworld is the patchwork world made from the remnants of destroyed realities, which could be a sign as to how the Fantastic Four could make their debut in Doomsday following the Galactus attack.

In the Avengers: Doomsday concept art, there’s a trial scene being held in Doom’s throne room, with indications that the man on trial is Reed Richards; the lady alongside Doom is Sue Storm, and the child in front of her is none other than young Franklin Richards. This is a prediction since there’s been no confirmation that Franklin is a part of First Steps, but seeing how the concept art does have the man on trial looking towards the woman and child, who happen to be in view, it indicates that Mister Fantastic’s is (literally) in quite a bend, spelling out a potential cruel fate for the leading man.

The locations of Johnny Storm and The Thing are still unknown since the concept art doesn’t give any indication as to where they might be, but if these rumors are true, they could be somewhere on Battleworld. They could potentially team up with other superheroes around the world, given that Hulk, Star-Lord, and Wong are there, but we can’t say for sure. The only way of knowing for sure where exactly the team will be when Doomsday starts will be at the end of First Steps, which debuts in theaters on July 25th.

What do you think about the Fantastic Four’s involvement in Doomsday? Do you our prediction is accurate? Let us know in the comments section below!

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Ever since Marvel Studios acquired the rights to the Fantastic Four, fans have been waiting anxiously for updates on when they’ll finally see Marvel’s First Family get the film they deserve. They had their prayers answered when the trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was released earlier this year, showcasing a dazzling new cinematic take on the characters that looked like it was ripped right from the comics. Fans were given even more glimpses of the upcoming movie when its concept art recently leaked, causing plenty of speculation on how much of it will be in the final product. While some of the images don’t reveal too much – such as those depicting Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm spending quality time together – there were definitely some interesting details, such as additional costume designs and a first look at the Shalla-Bal version of the Silver Surfer.

Among the leaked concept art was a major confirmation that has sent fans into a frenzy – Franklin Benjamin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm, is set to appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This was long suspected when the title of the film was announced some time ago – after all, why else would the film include the subtitle of “First Steps” if it didn’t relate to a young child? Franklin’s inclusion in the movie is a massive development, as it will not only be the first time that he’s been seen in a live-action Fantastic Four film, but because the character is one of the most powerful in the Marvel Comics universe. His appearance suggests that the Fantastic Four reboot will dive deep into the family-oriented storytelling that defines the team while also setting up potentially massive ramifications for the wider Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Who is Franklin Richards?

For those not familiar with Franklin Richards, this son of Mister Fantastic and the Invisible Woman is a mutant child with omega-level abilities. His immense powers enable him to warp reality, create pocket universes, and manipulate time and space – and he was able to do all of this before he even became an adult. Luckily, he’s raised by a couple of swell parents who taught him right from wrong, so the universe doesn’t have anything to fear from a child with godlike powers – yet. In fact, he’s so powerful that he’s been compared to that of cosmic entities like Galactus (who’s also appearing in First Steps), and various storylines have seen him reshape entire universes and timelines with thought alone.

Franklin Richards was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, with his first appearance in Fantastic Four Annual #6 in 1968. He was initially portrayed as a regular child, but he gradually began showing signs of his immense powers as he got older, resulting in him playing bigger roles in classic storylines. Because of his incredibly potent abilities, he was a major part of such crossover events as “Onslaught,” “Days of Future Present,” and “Secret Wars,” often serving as a linchpin in saving reality itself. Franklin’s abilities have even been acknowledged by such powerful beings as the Celestials, Kang the Conqueror, and Galactus.

[RELATED – Did The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Edit Out Reed’s Stretching Powers?]

What Franklin Richards’ Presence Means for the MCU

Because of Franklin’s considerable importance in the Marvel Comics universe, his inclusion in The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens up a lot of interesting narrative possibilities for the MCU. His ability to manipulate time and space could be how the Fantastic Four traverse the Multiverse and end up with the heroes of Earth-616, teaming for their inevitable showdown with Doctor Doom. And as fans of the comics know, Franklin plays an essential role in 2015’s “Secret Wars” crossover along with Doom – is Marvel Studios laying the groundwork for this to play out in 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars?

The leaked images are just concept art – at the moment, we don’t know for sure how much of it will show up in the final product, or much will be changed by the time the film is released. Still, given what we do know, it does seem that Marvel Studios is taking quite a few cues from the source material, and if that’s the case, fans have every reason to be excited about the MCU’s upcoming films.

Do you think Franklin Richards will play a big role in the MCU going forward? Tell us what you think below!

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The run time for this summer’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps has seemingly been revealed, and if it’s real, it would set a new record for the series. The website for the U.K.-based theater chain Odeon has a page dedicated to First Steps, where it says the film is 2 hours, 20 minutes long. This would make the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s reboot the longest Fantastic Four film to date. The two films from the mid-2000s directed by Tim Story ran for 106 minutes and 92 minutes, while the 2015 movie from Josh Trank was an even 100 minutes long. First Steps is 140 minutes according to this alleged run time.

If this pans out, The Fantastic Four: First Steps would also be one of the longest films to date in the MCU’s Multiverse Saga. Only Black Panther: Wakanda Forever (162 minutes), Eternals (156 minutes), Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 (150 minutes), and Spider-Man: No Way Home (148 minutes) are longer.

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to premiere in theaters this July. Kicking off Phase Six of the MCU, the film serves as the proper introduction of Marvel’s First Family to the franchise. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach headline as the titular team. All four actors will reprise their roles in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

[RELATED – 5 Things Fantastic Four: First Steps Has to Get Right]

Earlier this month, Marvel kicked off the Fantastic Four: First Steps marketing campaign with the release of the first trailer. The preview generated much enthusiasm amongst fans, as it racked up over 200 million views in its first 24 hours.

A longer run time would arguably benefit The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Not only does this mark the first time audiences are meeting several characters who are integral to the MCU’s future, the film also takes place in an alternate reality. First Steps is set in a 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic timeline separate from the MCU’s main Earth-616 continuity. This means viewers will have to get acclimated to a new setting and adjust to the differences from the Sacred Timeline. Considering everything First Steps has on its plate, the protracted run time (if handled properly) will give all of these elements plenty of time to breathe so they’re fully fleshed out and make the intended impact on audiences. Marvel has a lot riding on First Steps, and it needs the film to be a massive hit critically and commercially.

Of course, it’s important to note this is not the official run time. It’s possible the figure Odeon lists is simply a placeholder that will updated once tickets go on sale later this year. However, it wouldn’t be surprising if The Fantastic Four: First Steps ended up being 140 minutes (or somewhere within that range). That’s a fairly standard length for a high-profile studio tentpole, and First Steps has a lot to unpack. If this is the actual run time, hopefully the film’s sense of pacing is on point, constantly keeping the audience engaged with an exciting and compelling story.

The post Fantastic Four: First Steps Rumored Run Time Revealed (And Sets a Series Record) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Silver Surfer is going to meet an untimely fate in the comics before joining the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe later this year. Norrin Radd patrols the spaceways with the Power Cosmic as the Silver Surfer, former Herald of Galactus. Silver Surfer is one of Marvel’s most recognizable cosmic heroes and has fought alongside the Fantastic Four on numerous occasions against the Devourer of Worlds. As Marvel prepares for the premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Silver Surfer will headline a new limited series that, according to its title, will conclude with his death.

ComicBook can exclusively announce Death of the Silver Surfer, a five-issue limited series by writer Greg Pak and artist Sumit Kumar, with covers by Dike Ruan. The series appears to take place in the future, with Silver Surfer returning to a war-ravaged Earth and a big target on his back. Silver Surfer will encounter a human that Pak describes as “the most human and yet the most formidable rival Norrin Radd has ever had.” Fans can look forward to appearances by the Fantastic Four and Galactus, along with the introduction of new characters.

DEATH OF THE SILVER SURFER #1 (OF 5)

• Written by GREG PAK
• Art by SUMIT KUMAR
• Cover by DIKE RUAN
• SILVER SURFER’S FINAL VOYAGE?!
• The SILVER SURFER returns to defend a war-ravaged Earth, but Norrin has a galaxy-sized target on his back. A new enemy will stop at nothing to steal away everything the Surfer is or ever will be. A single human life may be all that decides the Surfer’s salvation…or damnation. If the Surfer falls, who then wields the awesome Power Cosmic? And what of the Surfer’s old master, Galactus, Devourer of Worlds?! Guest-starring: The Fantastic Four! GREG PAK (PLANET HULK, DARTH VADER) pens the Sentinel of the Spaceway’s next tragic epic with superstar illustrator SUMIT KUMAR (WEB OF SPIDER-VERSE, SPIDER-MAN: BLACK SUIT & BLOOD)!
• On Sale 6/4

“I love the Silver Surfer with all my heart — because he’s entirely heart. And during a time when so many people are in so much need, he’s never been more relevant,” Pak said.

He continued: “Norrin Radd is an alien who’s attacked wherever he goes, and yet always choses to help; a harbinger of doom who serves an abomination, but who always fights for life. His fantastical stories have always been about the contradictions and complexity of the real world, about the terrible price and infinite rewards of actually caring for others. 

In a world of shades of gray, the story of Norrin Radd lets us find a little silver, and I’m so thrilled to have the chance to tell this story with tremendous creators like editor Tom Groneman, artist Sumit Kumar, and cover artist Dike Ruan. They’re giving this book everything and they’re gonna bend your mind in all the best ways.

We’re also bringing back classic allies and creating entirely new characters, including the most human and yet the most formidable rival Norrin Radd has ever had. She’s cocky and dangerous and the absolute worst, but you also might absolutely fall in love with her. Dontcha dare miss a single issue!”

[RELATED: Fantastic Four Officially Join the MCU in First Steps Trailer]

Julia Garner plays Shalla-Bal, the female Silver Surfer, in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne portrayed the Norrin Radd version in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. While Death of the Silver Surfer is a Norrin Radd story, it is timely that the limited series comes out a month before the theatrical release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Fans will get to follow Norrin’s tragic story that should deliver a classic Silver Surfer tale for the ages.

ComicBook spoke to Garner in support of her new movie Wolf Man. We asked Garner her thoughts about playing Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and if anything stood out or surprised her about prepping for the role. “I mean, just how big it is. It’s a big universe, and I feel so grateful I get to be a little part of it to be honest,” Garner told ComicBook. “Everybody on that job, I think the casting is phenomenal and they’re so wonder. And [director] Matt Shakman is amazing. I’m very excited.”

Death of the Silver Surfer #1 goes on sale June 4th. Let us know your thoughts on the project in the comments below!

The post Marvel Teases the Silver Surfer’s Death Before MCU Debut in Fantastic Four appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Captain America: Brave New World‘s arrival in theaters has once again sparked discussion about the state of the Marvel Cinematic Universe after Avengers: Endgame. It’s been no secret that Marvel Studios has lost a step – a few steps, if we’re all being honest – and it hasn been more than disappointing to see the franchise failing to achieve the same kind of power and resonance it once had. However, despite going on over half a decade without the MCU hitting like it used to, my love of the franchise hasn’t died (yet). I still very much love the MCU – which is why I’m still rooting for it to get better.

Any MCU fan, new or old, has spent countless minutes re-watching that now-classic climactic sequence from Endgame: Steve Rogers/Captain America (Chris Evans) thinks he’s the last man standing on the battlefield against Thanos and his alien army, only to hear Sam Wilson/Falcon’s (Anthony Mackie) iconic “On your left,” in his earpiece, before Doctor Strange and other mystics open Sling-Ring portals and deliver an army of Marvel heroes to stand alongside Cap.

There was a reason that moment in Endgame is so profound and rousing for so many fans: it was more than just a payoff to Avengers: Infinity Wars and Avengers: Endgame – it was the culmination of the entire MCU Infinity Saga, and over a decade of films. More than that, though: Endgame‘s ‘Last Man Standing’ sequence, and all of those familiar MCU heroes returning to life and to the fight, was an undeniable prompt for a flood of memories and emotions that are invariably tied to the MCU; all the places we were, and the events happening in our lives when we saw each of those preceding movies; for older fans, the years upon years that were waited to see this epic collectionof Marvel characters realized in live-action at all, let alone coming together for one big epic showdown on the big screen. Kevin Feige, The Russo Bros, and the other filmmakers involved with Endgame knew what kind of moment they had earned, and they didn’t waste the chance ot let fans recognize and bask in it, together.

When you hear fans talk about the MCU not being like it used to be, they’re mostly referring to all those rousing emotions that came rushing to the surface dring Endgame‘s ‘Last Man Standing’ sequence. Not only were (most) of the MCU movie releases fun events worth a trip to the theater, the interconnected nature of the films (however loose it was at times) made investment in each of them feel worthwhile in the long run. That larger investment of time and interest also served as a bridge to other like-minded fans who were locked-in for the whole larger saga, creating one of the most robust and passionate fanbases ever. In the post-Endgame era, that sense of necessary viewing for MCU content has been all but lost – and with it has gone any sense of a coheisve larger narrative, and fanbase to discuss and debate it. It hit especially hard during the pandemic and the years trying to bounce back afterward, while a deluge of Marvel content hit the big and small screen: the sense of being one large, unified community gone, replaced by a confusing roadmap of different IPs on various platforms, with differing levels of investment amongst the fans. The sense of community has faded, while the actual MCU products have (overall) delivered less in the way of big, epic, or beloved moments. It’s not wrong to feel like some of the luster is gone.

We all know by now that Marvel Studios and Disney fell under new leadership when Disney CEO Bob Chapek replaced his predeccssor Bob Iger in Feburary of 2020. Chapek was caught up in the rush of the COVID-19 pandemic and like so many other media companies, he leaned into streaming as the new Gold Rush in entertainment. No need to deeply reshash it here (that’s for a future bestseller to do), but the plan didn’t work out: MCU products flipped to a “quantity over quality” mantra (on both the film and TV sides); oversaturation of watered-down product made entire characters and franchises D.O.A.; it was such a misfire that Chapek was shown the door in 2022, and Disney-Marvel Studios has been attempting to right the ship since then – while taking additional hard hits from things like the Hollywood Strikes in 2023.

[RELATED: Captain America: Brave New World Marks the End of Marvel Studios’ Darkest Era]

We’ve already broken down how Captain America: Brave New World is completely stained by the high-water mark of the MCU’s oversaturation era. That film was all but ripped apart by being stretched between the transitions in Disney leadership (Chapek being fired, Iger being brought back), and it shows. However, if you’re a longtime MCU fan who has been keeping up with everything behind the scenes, you know that now is the time and place to shake off the disappointment, and hope again.

Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney+ in March; that show was completely retooled and re-shot after its initial batch of episodes (offering a very different take on Daredevil) failed to impress Disney and Marvel executives. So far, Born Again looks like a spiritual successor to the Netflix Daredevil series that fans actually want to see; after that, we’ll be back to a classic Marvel Studios summer kickoff with Thunderbolts* in May – a film that is generating overwhelmingly good hype after its trailers. Marvel Studios rolled the dice big time on its Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer launch, but so far the odds are looking very much in that film’s favor. Between them, Daredevil will likely prove the MCU can still use revisit IPs from the larger Marvel Entertainment brand (key to the franchise’s soft-reboot after Avengers: Secret Wars); Thunderbolts* can prove that the larger interconnected history of the MCU can still be mined for smart and impactful crossover stories, and Fantastic Four will prove that there are still viable characters and IPs in Marvel’s stable capable of launching new blockbuster IPs.

If all three of those goals are met, it will be undeniable that the MCU is back, and fan will have all the reasons needed to feel good and celebrate the franchise again. Like Cap on that battlefield, we could disover that, at its lowest point, the MCU has strong calvalry ready to ride in turn the tide. And I (along with you) will be assembled and ready for it.

And yes, there’s no doubt that (unless the Russos have a miracle twist up their sleeves) the “grand finale” of the Multiverse Saga in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars wil likely feel like a rushed and disjointed affair. But Doomsday and Secret Wars can still be great event films that get us to the real promised land hardcore fans are looking at: Phase Seven, and a rebooted Marvel Cinematic Universe (no more multiverse) where the Avengers, Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, X-Men and every other Marvel character and property are all part of one franchise, at last.

Marvel Cinematic Universe movies and TV series are streaming on Disney+. Captain America: Brave New World is in theaters; Thunderbolts* has a release date of May 2nd; Fantastic Four: First Steps has a release date of July 25th, and Daredevil: Born Again premieres on Disney+ on March 4th.

The post I Still Love the MCU – Which Is Why I Want It to Be Better appeared first on ComicBook.com.

John Malkovich is set to make his Marvel Cinematic Universe debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but he had opportunities to join the franchise earlier. In an interview with GQ, the Oscar-nominated actor explained why he had previously passed on other Marvel projects. Malkovich noted it had nothing to do with his feelings about the MCU from a creative perspective; his decision to turn Marvel down in the past stemmed from his issues with the studio’s contracts. He said he wasn’t being offered enough money to make the prospect of signing on worthwhile. Citing the “grueling” nature of Marvel productions, Malkovich noted he’d rather spend his time pursuing other creative endeavors if Marvel’s pay wasn’t high enough.

“The reason I didn’t do them had nothing to do with any artistic considerations whatsoever. I didn’t like the deals they made, at all,” Malkovich said. “These films are quite grueling to make … If you’re going to hang from a crane in front of a green screen for six months, pay me. You don’t want to pay me, it’s cool, but then I don’t want to do it, because I’d rather be onstage, or be directing a play, or doing something else.” Malkovich also shared that he agreed to The Fantastic Four: First Steps because he wanted to work with director Matt Shakman again, after collaborating with the filmmaker on Cut Bank.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to open in theaters in July, kicking off the MCU’s Phase Six. The film is one of the most integral projects of the Multiverse Saga, introducing characters who will play a pivotal role in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Earlier this month, Marvel released the first First Steps trailer, which racked up over 200 million views in its first 24 hours.

[RELATED – 3 Characters John Malkovich Could Play in The Fantastic Four: First Steps]

Malkovich’s character is shown in the trailer, though it is unknown who exactly he is playing. Since the teaser came out, fans have speculated the actor could be portraying anyone from Dr. Franklin Storm to Nathaniel Richards to Red Ghost. It is unknown if Malkovich’s mystery character will factor into future MCU productions.

While there’s a lot of glitz and glamor surrounding Hollywood blockbusters, pay inequality is still an issue plaguing the industry. Last month, Oscar-nominee Djimon Hounsou (who has appeared in Marvel and DC films) made headlines when he revealed he is “still struggling to make a living” even after being in movies for decades. With that in mind, Malkovich’s reasoning for passing on Marvel in the past is understandable. His interests go beyond the big screen, and if he’s going to be occupied shooting a studio tentpole for several months, he wants to ensure he’s being fairly compensated for the work. Malkovich’s history with Shakman made The Fantastic Four: First Steps more appealing for him, but it would also be interesting to know if Marvel upped their salary offer to get the actor to sign on.

However Marvel got Malkovich onboard, his presence should benefit The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He’s a very talented actor with range to effortlessly portray a variety of characters, and it’ll be fascinating to see how he fits into First Steps. Perhaps Marvel will offer up more clues about Malkovich’s role in future Fantastic Four marketing materials, as there will surely be an abundance of additional trailer and TV spots in the build-up to its release. Of course, the MCU is also known for its secrecy, so fans might have to wait until July to learn all there is about Malkovich’s Marvel character.

The post John Malkovich Turned Down Marvel Roles Before Fantastic Four (For Good Reason) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Towards the end of The Incredible Hulk, supporting character Samuel Sterns (Tim Blake Nelson) is knocked against a table holding vials of Bruce Banner’s enhanced blood. Droplets of this liquid fall into a wound in his forehead, causing it to slightly vibrate and expand. A wicked grin emerges on his face, an indication that, in any subsequent Hulk outings, this character would be turning into the green-skinned baddie The Leader. Given that The Incredible Hulk 2 never happened and Mark Ruffalo took over the Hulk role in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, it looked like, for the longest time, that Nelson would never play The Leader.

Then Captain America: Brave New World rolled around and not only promised to bring back Nelson’s Sterns as The Leader but to make him the primary adversary of this 2025 blockbuster. It took 17 years from Incredible Hulk’s June 2008 debut to finally pay this off, but Tim Blake Nelson is finally getting to fulfill his potential as The Leader. The gap between his MCU roles is really apparent when one considers how, in between Nelson’s two Samuel Sterns appearances, he took on another Marvel Comics baddie in a separate franchise. Back in 2015, Nelson had a role in Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four.

Who Did Tim Blake Nelson Play In Fantastic Four?

Taking cues from the Ultimate Comics version of the Fantastic Four and Trank’s own Chronicle, 2015’s Fantastic Four focused on a version of the titular team that were teenagers. Just because the principal cast members were supposed to look young, though, didn’t mean that the project was totally devoid of older actors. Tim Blake Nelson showed up as a version Dr. Harvey Allen, a key member at the Baxter Foundation who oversees the interdimensional exploits Reed Richards is pioneering. If that name sounds familiar, it’s because he’s a version of Harvey Elder A.K.A. Mole Man, one of the Fantastic Four’s most famous villains, and their very first adversary in the comics.

In a sign of how chaotic the Fantastic Four production is, an official featurette with generalized soundbites sees Nelson repeatedly refer to his role as “Harvey Elder,” the character’s comic book name, rather than “Harvey Allen,” his name in the theatrical cut of the film. Presumably, the name change occurred during those infamous reshoots that resulted in things like Kate Mara’s terrible wig. It’s unclear why this tweak happened, but it just further separates Nelson’s character from his comic book incarnation.

[RELATED: The Fantastic Four Trailer From 2015 Promised an Epic Movie Marvel Fans Never Got]

Prior to Fantastic Four’s release, rumors spread that Nelson’s role here would mirror his Samuel Sterns part in Incredible Hulk. Nelson would show up in this initial Fantastic Four movie as just a guy before taking on superpowers and a nefarious identity in sequels. Even if 2015’s Fantastic Four had broken the bank at the box office, though, those rumors would’ve never materialized. In a weird turn of events, Nelson’s Harvey Allen is killed (via his head exploding) through Doctor Doom’s telepathic powers. Once again, Nelson’s hopes of becoming a multi-movie supervillain presence were dashed away.

Nelson’s Fantastic Four Role Has Fallen Into Obscurity

Since Fantastic Four debuted, Nelson has rarely talked about the feature beyond briefly remarking that he was doubtful a sequel would ever happen. Because of the lack of constant reminders from the man himself that he portrayed some variation on Mole Man onscreen, it’s been easy for the internet to forget that Tim Blake Nelson played a role in this woe-begotten reboot. Nelson’s late-2010s resurgence which included a lead role in a vastly superior ground superhero project, Watchmen, has also helped keep people from constantly remembering his other Marvel Comics baddie role.

With Nelson getting to finally inhabit the role of The Leader, the actor’s gotten long overdue closure for his initial Marvel Cinematic Universe screen credit. His Brave New World exploits also ensure that his time on Fantastic Four will inevitably become even more obscure. Why focus on an unrealized supervillain in a detested film when Nelson got to become The Leader in a modern tentpole? On top of all that, Josh Trank’s 2015 film never allowed Nelson to utilize his best traits as an actor. It’s certainly fascinating Nelson’s become one of the few actors to play Marvel villains in two separate films. However, there are countless better options for superior Tim Blake Nelson performances worth remembering instead.

Fantastic Four is now streaming on Disney+.

The post Captain America: Brave New World Star Tim Blake Nelson Once Played Another Marvel Villain You Forgot About appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Miles Teller, who starred in 2015’s Fantastic Four, has shared his thoughts on the upcoming Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The actor spoke with The Hollywood Reporter while at the premiere of his new film The Gorge and discussed First Steps. Taking the high road, Teller said he hopes the movie turns out the best it can for everyone involved. He also shared that he watched the recently released teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and was impressed by what he saw. Teller is excited to see the characters become a part of the MCU.

“I’ve known Pedro [Pascal] for a couple of years, man I’m wishing them all the best,” Teller said, detailing his relationship with the new Reed Richards actor. “I don’t wish anybody to be a part of a bomb, it’s just a marker on your career that for some people takes longer to get over than others. I just wish them the best. I saw the little trailer and I thought it looked fantastic, I’m very excited for them.”

Teller starred as Reed Richards in Josh Trank’s ill-fated Fantastic Four, which was critically panned and flopped at the box office ($167.8 million worldwide gross against a $120 million production budget). Despite being conceived as the launch of a new series, that film never received any follow-ups. Once Disney acquired 21st Century Fox and gained the Fantastic Four film rights, Marvel Studios began developing a reboot set in the MCU.

[RELATED – 5 Things Fantastic Four: First Steps Has to Get Right]

That reboot, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is set to premiere in theaters this summer. Earlier this month, Disney revved up the film’s marketing campaign by debuting the highly anticipated teaser trailer, which established the movie’s 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic aesthetic and family dynamics. Pascal and his co-stars Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach are set to play integral roles in the MCU moving forward, reprising their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.

It’s nice to see Teller express enthusiasm for First Steps. The fate of his Fantastic Four couldn’t have been an easy pill to swallow; if things turned out differently, he could have been one of the faces of a popular superhero franchise, but now he’s looking forward to see what the next cast can do. Fortunately for Teller, Fantastic Four‘s performance didn’t impact his career too much. He’s continued to find steady work in the decade since, notably starring as Rooster in the massively successful Top Gun: Maverick. A third Top Gun is reportedly in the works, with Teller planning to reprise his role.

Trank’s Fantastic Four was Fox’s second failed attempt at a Fantastic Four series, coming on the heels of the mid-2000s films directed by Tim Story. That track record would seemingly indicate the general moviegoing public doesn’t have much interest in these characters, but hopes are high for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The teaser trailer racked up over 200 million views in its first 24 hours, becoming one of Marvel’s most successful trailer launches ever. Fans have wanted to see the Fantastic Four in the MCU for a long time, so it looks like First Steps will be much more fruitful than the earlier Fantastic Four movies. With everything Marvel has riding on it, it can’t afford the film to be another bomb.

The post Former Fantastic Four Star Addresses Upcoming First Steps Reboot After Their “Bomb” appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is arguably the most highly-anticipated Marvel Cinematic Universe project of 2025. Fans finally got their first look at the teaser trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps, which showed off the film’s retro aesthetic and brilliant character designs. The Fantastic Four has proven to be a rather difficult sell for modern audiences — both in comics and cinema — so even though the teaser trailer looks great, many long-time Fantastic Four fans are still nervous about whether First Steps is going to be able to stick the landing. The Fantastic Four can be a tough nut to crack, but if the movie gets these five things right, fans will get the F4 movie they’ve always craved.

Here are the things that Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to do to be a success.

That F4 Family Feel

The Fantastic Four is a different kind of superhero team than most moviegoing fans are used to. The Avengers are a big league sports team, combining the talents of the best of the best; the Guardians of the Galaxy are the misfits, brought together by circumstance and forming their own odd family; the X-Men are school friends, brought together by shared traumas. The Fantastic Four, though, is a family, first and foremost. While most superteams eventually take on something of a family dynamic, the Fantastic Four is a family from the very beginning.

The teaser trailer for First Steps definitely shows that Marvel Studios is working the family dynamic into things — putting a lot of emphasis on the weekly family dinners of the team — but it has to keep that sort of thing up throughout the movie. Reed and Sue Richards are the parents of the team; Ben Grimm is the grumpy older brother/uncle, and Johnny Storm is the cool, mouthy younger brother. This interplay is extremely important and if the movie can sell it to the audience, Fantastic Four: First Steps will be a hit with fans.

That Wild Sci-Fi Feel

Beyond the family dynamic, another difference between the Fantastic Four and Marvel’s other teams is the way that they handle science fiction. Sci-fi is an integral part of all superhero stories, but the Avengers, Guardians of the Galaxy, and the X-Men use it differently than the Fantastic Four. Those other teams use more of the trappings of sci-fi — the aliens, the big space battles, and superpowers — than they do the scientific side of sci-fi. The Fantastic Four is as much about science as they are about anything else.

The F4 is a team of explorers. Mister Fantastic is a super genius, the Thing was a pilot who graduated to flying rockets, and Invisible Woman and Human Torch grew up with a scientist father, with Invisible Woman being quite a scientific mind in her own right. Science is the center of the team and Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to remember that. Seeing H.E.R.B.I.E. in the teaser trailer was great, but we need more. Mister Fantastic needs to constantly be tinkering, the team’s headquarters needs to be as high-tech as possible for its era, and fans should get teases of sci-fi concepts like the Negative Zone. The Fantastic Four isn’t a normal superteam, and Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to put that on display by playing up the science-fiction feel of the team.

Mister Fantastic’s Powers Have to Look Fantastic

One thing that was conspicuously missing from the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer was the use of Mister Fantastic’s powers. We got to see the Thing in all his rocky glory, Invisible Woman using her powers to turn invisible and using her invisible force fields, and Human Torch flaming on. Stretching is one of the harder powers to make work on the big screen, so much so that Marvel Studios decided to completely change Ms. Marvel’s powers rather than give her comic-accurate abilities. The fact that there was no stretching in the teaser is a bit scary for fans.

The MCU’s CGI hasn’t exactly been the best in the post-Avengers: Endgame era, and that could be a problem for stretching. Now, the reason there is no Mister Fantastic stretching in this trailer could be because Marvel Studios is doing everything they can to make sure the stretching effects look good. This is hopefully the case. Mister Fantastic stretches constantly in the comic; the movie needs to show this and it needs to look amazing. If the stretching is subpar or not used as much as it should be, then Fantastic Four: First Steps won’t feel right.

[RELATED: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Poster Includes a Hidden Marvel Character]

The Relationship Between Silver Surfer & Galactus

Many fans were surprised that Fantastic Four: First Steps was going to go with Galactus as the villain right off the bat because the old MCU would have made him the new Thanos. The teaser gave fans a great look at Galactus, reassuring them that the villain is going to be comic-accurate. The movie will also include a female version of Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner. These two characters are very particular, with a very particular relationship, and Fantastic Four: First Steps needs to nail their interplay.

The two beings met when Galactus came to destroy Silver Surfer’s planet Zenn-La in the comics. Norrin Radd offered himself to become Galactus’s servant, helping him find planets to devour, in exchange for allowing his home to survive. Marvel Studios is going to probably have Shalla-Bal, Radd’s girlfriend from the comics, take his place while otherwise replicating that origin. Silver Surfer is an extremely philosophical character and understands how monstrous being Galactus’s Herald is. The Surfer hates Galactus while also being slavishly loyal to him to save his homeworld, but is moved by the actions of the Fantastic Four to save their own. The movie needs to take the time to set up this dynamic correctly because it’s integral to the story of the Fantastic Four and Galactus.

The Tragedy of the Thing

For many Fantastic Four fans, the Thing is the best character on the team. Ben Grimm made friends with Reed Richards in college and the two served in the military together. They became the best of friends — basically brothers — and Grimm piloted the rocket that took Richards, Sue, and Johnny Storm through the cosmic radiation that made them the Fantastic Four. The other three’s powers are basically a blessing, but Grimm was made into a rocky monster, losing all of his humanity. That is the tragedy of the Thing. He may be one of the most popular people on the planet, surrounded by friends and family and save the world regularly, but he’ll never have a normal life.

The Thing’s best stories revolve around this tragedy. While he’s come to terms with it over the years, even finding love with the blind sculptress Alicia Masters in the comics, the Thing of Fantastic Four: First Steps would be in the middle of dealing with the changes to his life. The movie needs to sell the tragedy of the Thing perfectly for it all to work. The MCU can mess up pathos at times, and they can’t do that with the Thing. Fans have to feel and understand the pain of the character. It’s an integral part of the Fantastic Four.

Fantastic Four: First Steps has a release date of July 25th.

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Marvel Studios recently released the first teaser trailer for its upcoming film The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and it has already whipped fans into a frenzy. Not only does the movie mark the debut of the Fantastic Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, but this early glimpse shows that this is looking to be the most faithful version of Marvel’s First Family ever put to screen. The Fantastic Four’s cinematic history has been … well, uneven, to put it mildly. The Roger Corman-produced 1994 film is far too cheesy and low-budget for fans of the comic book (though good luck finding it, as it was never officially released). The Tim Story-helmed 2005 and 2007 films captured elements of the characters, but don’t hold up today. And the less said about Josh Trank’s bleak and confusing Fant4stic, the better.

One of the biggest takeaways from the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser is the brief yet impactful appearance of the beloved villain Galactus. Audiences were treated to a disappointing version of the character — who appeared in the form of a giant space cloud — in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and fans have been waiting for a comics-accurate version ever since. While this glimpse of Galactus is short, it proves that Marvel Studios may very well have gotten the Devourer of Worlds right this time. And while the visual accuracy of Galactus is certainly important, how the film handles the character’s ginormous presence will be critical to how fans respond to this new take. Funnily enough, Marvel Comics has already given us a perfect — if somewhat ludicrous — way to defeat the massive planet-eater, one that the Fantastic Four may want to keep in mind.

For those not familiar with Galactus, he’s one of the most powerful cosmic beings in the Marvel Comics universe. He was created by writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, and made his grand appearance in 1966 in Fantastic Four #48 as part of the famous “Galactus Trilogy” storyline. What separates Galactus from other typical villains is that he isn’t necessarily “evil” — while he does consume entire planets, it’s simply to sustain himself and not out of malice. He’s more of a force of nature rather than a straight-up bad guy. Before he appears to eat a planet, his arrival is often announced by his herald, the Silver Surfer (who will appear in First Steps as Shalla-Bal). Throughout his publication history, he’s clashed with almost every major hero, but most of his battles have been with the Fantastic Four.

Galactus is a massive entity and is not easy to take down. Well, there is one comic book that showed us a pretty easy way to defeat him. Marvel Team-Up #137, released in 1983, sees Galactus running low on energy and heading to Earth to ask Reed Richards (aka Mister Fantastic) of the Fantastic Four for help. Unable to find him, he tracks down Reed’s young son Franklin Richards at the circus with Peter Parker’s Aunt May and Mary Jane Watson. Considering how powerful Franklin is, Galactus tries to turn him into his next herald to find sustenance for him, but accidentally transforms Aunt May into his herald, now called Golden Oldie.

[RELATED: Did The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Edit Out Reed’s Stretching Powers?]

Desperate to find a way to satiate Galactus’ hunger, Franklin offers him a Twinkie. That’s right, the Hostess snack. (Well, not really. Probably to avoid legal issues, the snacks in the comic are called Twinkles, but we all know what they really are.) Sure enough, Galactus not only discovers that the, ahem, Twinkle is enough to begin restoring his energy, but he also quite likes the taste. But this is a guy whose nickname is the Devourer of Planets, so one little pack of “Twinkles” isn’t going to cut it. This prompts Golden Oldie, with her newfound powers, to scour the galaxy for more sustenance and stumbles upon a planet-sized snack that he soon consumes. Of course, because he just sucked down a giant pastry, Galactus returns to Earth asking for a glass of milk.

If this premise sounds ridiculous to you, rest assured that it’s all just a dream that Peter Parker had. And if that sounds ridiculous to you, rest assured that Peter waking up from a crazy dream is revealed to be a dream that Marvel Comics editor Danny Fingeroth just had. And if that sounds ridiculous to you, rest assured that Danny waking up from a dream is revealed to be a dream that the Marvel Comics Editor-in-Chief just had. And if that sounds ridiculous to you, rest assured that…

Yes, the whole thing is revealed to be a dream within a dream within a dream within a dream, which explains how silly the concept of satisfying Galactus’ hunger with a spongecake filled with whipped cream is. Still, while the comic may not necessarily be canonical, is there any proof that debunks the idea that Twinkie could theoretically keep Galactus at bay? It might be smart of the Fantastic Four to at least keep a few packs on hand just in case.

The post Marvel Already Showed Us How to Defeat Galactus (And The Fantastic Four Should Take Note) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps triumphantly brings Marvel’s first superhero team into the MCU, but fans are beginning to speculate about other elements it might pull in from the publisher’s past. A poster for the new movie shows an awe-stricken photographer that could be Phil Sheldon, which means the movie could incorporate elements of the 1994 miniseries Marvels by Kurt Busiek and Alex Ross. The book explores the history of the Marvel universe from Sheldon’s perspective as an average everyman — and he’s seen some of the franchise’s biggest moments. If Sheldon is there in First Steps, then many other elements of that comic are on the table as well.

One of the new posters for The Fantastic Four: First Steps focuses on a photographer, and some fans are speculating that he’s none other than Phil Sheldon. It would make sense for Sheldon to be there as an audience stand-in character or even just an Easter egg, but there’s a chance more of the comic will come into the movie with him. Marvels is all about Sheldon witnessing important moments in Marvel history from a civilian perspective, including the debut of the original Human Torch Jim Hammond, Namor the Sub-Mariner, and Captain America.

We know that First Steps takes place in an alternate reality from the rest of the MCU, so we won’t be seeing any characters we’re familiar with. On the other hand, that opens the door for all kinds of things in this setting, such as mutants and the X-Men. In the second volume of Marvels, Sheldon lives in New York City and reports on the superhero teams Fantastic Four and the Avengers. At the same time, he watches with unease as mutants begin to emerge into the world and the public reacts.

[RELATED: Fantastic 4: Does This Line in the First Steps Trailer Spoil a Major MCU Twist?]

Marvel Studios is great at withholding big reveals for a movie’s premiere, and at this point, it seems all but certain that the mutants and X-Men of the MCU will be introduced this way. It would definitely delight fans if they showed up unannounced in First Steps, and they wouldn’t need to take up too much screen time or distract from the main narrative here. It’s worth noting that the Marvels comic book series also covers the Fantastic Four’s face-off with the Silver Surfer, and later Galactus — the confirmed antagonists of First Steps.

Marvels may also provide some ways to connect the world of First Steps to the MCU’s Sacred Timeline. It’s unclear when and how this reality will cross over with the main story, but considering this is called the “Multiverse Saga,” we can assume it will all come together in the end. If it does, Phil Sheldon may play an important part in introducing the Fantastic Four to new readers through his memoir, Marvels. It’s about all the super-powered heroes he’s seen over the years, from androids to mutants to flukes like the Fantastic Four. Tying all these different types of heroes together and describing their history could be important to getting people from different realities all on the same page.

If we really want to speculate, there are other characters introduced in Marvels that could follow Sheldon into First Steps. As a new photographer, Phil meets with characters from all over the Marvel universe, so few things are off-limits. It’s worth noting that the epilogue of the miniseries introduces us to Nova — a character fans have been clamoring to see in the MCU. Considering his history with the Fantastic Four and his connection to cosmic entities we’ve already seen on screen, this might be a good time to bring him in.

The retro-futuristic setting of First Steps also makes for a natural connection to Marvels. The comic is spread out across the 20th century, placing many events in the Marvel universe on a strict timeline. Much like the setting of New York City, these decades are an integral part of Marvel’s history, and it would be interesting to explore them here in a self-contained movie. It’s only an aesthetic tie-in, but for a visual medium, that’s important enough.

Content aside, it’s reasonable to assume that Marvels is inspiring the MCU because it’s immensely popular. The series won three Eisner Awards when it was published in 1994 and inspired many similar books that followed. It’s beloved by fans and critics alike, and is often cited by other creators in various mediums. It would be smart for Marvel Studios to draw from this book, directing new readers to it in the process.

Whatever is coming, we’ll know soon enough. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th. Marvels is available now in print and digital formats.

The post Could Fantastic Four: First Steps Subtly Be Adapting This Critically Acclaimed Comics Series? appeared first on ComicBook.com.

It’s no surprise that the first teaser for The Fantastic Four: First Steps scored 202 million views in its first 24 hours online: it’s a darn good teaser that lets the striking individual personalities of these characters breathe while demonstrating an enjoyable retro ’60s-infused atmosphere distinctly different from other Marvel Studios projects. This Fantastic Four teaser is so good that it pushes out the memories of prior Fantastic Four movies from people’s minds. Audiences aren’t inquiring whether or not First Steps can offer something new compared to its predecessors, they’re just focused on the future.

One bizarre detail about the First Steps trailer, though, is that it arrived just a few days after the 10th anniversary of 2015’s Fantastic Four dropping its first teaser. Only a decade separates these two trailers, yet they seem to have come from different realities given their radically different approaches to the titular superhero team. While the eventual Josh Trank directorial effort Fant4stic was no good, it has to be said that this teaser was surprisingly solid. In fact, it promised a more introspective and chilling movie than the final product could ever hope to deliver.

What Did the Fantastic Four Teaser Entail?

This first teaser almost entirely focuses (in terms of dialogue) on voice-over narration from Reg E. Cathey’s Franklin Storm. This famous performer’s terrific voice is a grand way to instantly instill a sense of gravitas into the teaser, with images of New York City and grasslands resonating as Franklin contemplates “How did we get this far?” As the teaser progresses, viewers see pieces of footage focused on individual Fantastic Four members (like Reed Richards and Ben Grimm). These establish the interior lives of these superheroes before one fateful trip to space (or another dimension in this movie) changes things forever.

Gradually, the score becomes more and more ominous as Fantastic Four’s teaser focuses on the four leads as they get used to their new powers. “But with every new discovery,” Franklin Storm ruminates, “There is risk, there is sacrifice, and there are consequences.” With every new word, increasingly ominous imagery appears onscreen, like Richards crawling his way through a fiery landscape, Johnny Storm lighting on fire at the end of a hallway littered with corpses, and some “thing” beginning to emerge from a pile of rock. What sounds like a faint siren plays repeatedly on the soundtrack as the teaser builds up to the title reveal.

It’s all very creepy and in line with Trank’s pre-release proclamations that his vision of the Fantastic Four would be more in line with body horror than an Avengers movie. Of course, a concession to conventional superhero entertainment is delivered at the end of Fantastic Four’s teaser when the titular superhero team is shown up gazing up at a space laser beam – a scene that could’ve been lifted from The Avengers or Suicide Squad. As a standalone piece of art, this Fantastic Four teaser is reasonably eerie and gets a lot of mileage out of Reg E. Cathey’s impeccable voice-over work.

[RELATED: You Won’t Believe These Actors Were Once Rumored For 2015’s Fantastic Four Movie]

The Final Fant4stic Film Didn’t Align With This Teaser

It’s amusing, in hindsight, just how inaccurate this teaser trailer was in representing Fantastic Four. For one thing, the climactic shot of the teaser is nowhere to be found, while that big cosmic laser beam manifests in a radically different way in the final film. Meanwhile, some of the most evocative wide shots of this teaser depicting Johnny Storm tending to a body in a hallway or driving a car on a country road didn’t make it into the final cut. After all the reshoots and post-production chaos, 2015’s Fantastic Four largely deploys bland cramped imagery, not the grander vistas of this teaser.

Then there’s the absence of scenes like Ben Grimm playing baseball in the daytime, which shows how character-centric moments from this feature ended up on the cutting room floor. Even Cathey’s Franklin Storm has only a fleeting presence in the final film, with too much of the dialogue going to tin-eared lines from the four leads, rather than Storm delivering grandiose ruminations on humanity. Even the eerie tone of this teaser is largely absent from the final product. There’s certainly nothing to chill you to the bone during its rudimentary CG-heavy finale.

The Fantastic Four teaser from ten years ago is now a tragic piece of pop culture nostalgia. The disparity between this teaser and the final film demonstrates how far a movie can stray during production and what endless studio executive meddling can produce. At least this solidly evocative teaser trailer came out of this creative boondoggle. Better still, the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser offers hope to die-hard fans of these Marvel Comics mainstays that a proper feature film adaptation of these characters could be just around the corner.

2015’s Fantastic Four is now streaming on Disney+.

The post The Fantastic Four Trailer From 2015 Promised an Epic Movie Marvel Fans Never Got appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Welcome to the first discussion post for the ComicBook Panel! Make sure to post your own comments down below!

We’ve got a lot to dissect this week, so let’s get right into it! Marvel’s first family has officially made their much-anticipated debut in the MCU this week with the first teaser trailer for Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four: First Steps. The trailer stretched many fans’ expectations wide, as we got a glimpse at director Matt Shakman’s ’60s-inspired comic setting, along with our first look at Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, The Thing, H.E.R.B.I.E, and Galactus.

With many star-studded actors still to make their appearance yet, the response to what fans have seen has set the Internet ablaze.

Marvel fans across the Internet have approached the trailer with a sense of cautious optimism, seeing how we have seen three prior iterations of the Fantastic Four within the past few decades (anyone remember Roger Corman’s 1994 film?). This time around, we see Hollywood’s best and brightest within the F4 roles with Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm. While many have praised the comic-accurate depiction in the film, from ’60s-era style costumes to our first look at Galactus, some have pinpointed one key character that sticks out like a giant sore thumb.

Many viewers noted that The Thing’s portrayal within the Fantastic Four: First Steps seems a bit rocky. Some pointed at the character’s overall look to be a negative highlight, which is based on Jack Kirby’s original design. Comments across the Internet, as well as some staff members here at ComicBook, commented on the CGI and vocals being different from previous iterations, which were more coarse and deeper. Others pointed out the lack of footage, including Mister Fantastic’s stretching ability, as a sign that the film might not be ready for the summer premiere.

What is your take on the overall concept of the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer? Are you willing to put faith in the fourth adaptation of the Fantastic Four? What other complaints (or praises) did you have about the trailer?

Check out some of our best The Fantastic Four: First Steps coverage let us know what you thought of the trailer in the comments section below!

• The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Has One Glaring Absence (Is That a Good Thing?)
• The Fantastic Four: Who Is John Malkovich Playing?
• Fantastic Four Clearly Reveals a Major Avengers Connection (Which Explains RDJ’s Doom Casting)
• Fantastic Four Reveals First Look at Galactus (and Yes, He’s Comics Accurate)
• Fantastic Four: Does This Line in The First Steps Trailer Spoil a Major MCU Twist?
• The Fantastic Four: First Steps Cast’s Best Roles (And Where to Watch Them)

The post CB Panel: Discuss What You Think of the Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The newest Fantastic Four movie is set to kick off Phase 6 of the MCU in July. The teaser trailer recently dropped, giving fans a first look at what to expect from this new reboot, while hinting how it fits into the bigger picture of the Marel multiverse and major characters like Doctor Doom (who’ll be making his debut soon). But even with all the buzz about the plot, one thing that pretty much everyone excitedly agreed on, was the casting. The actors starring in Fantastic Four aren’t new faces in Hollywood, but they each have work that most people haven’t fully explored yet.

With that in mind, we’ve rounded up the best roles each of The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast members have played. Playing superheroes is no easy feat, but before that, these actors shined in other projects that are worth watching if you want to raise your expectations even higher for this movie.

Pedro Pascal

The new actor playing Reed Richards is definitely a fan favorite. Pedro Pascal rose to fame in Game of Thrones, where his role as Oberyn Martell in Season 4 made a lasting impression, especially after the character’s death. But it was in Netflix’s Narcos where he really made a name for himself, building a solid fan base before The Mandalorian took him to another level. The Star Wars series quickly shot Pascal to stardom, and audiences began to expect more from him. However, after playing the villain in DC’s Wonder Woman 1984, his big break came with HBO’s The Last of Us. Among all his work, this series is hard to overlook, especially since it earned him an Emmy nomination and the statuette for Best Actor in a Drama Series at the 2024 SAG Awards. His performance was praised by critics, standing out for its raw vulnerability and emotional intensity, which solidified him as one of the most talented actors of today.

The Last of Us is set in a post-apocalyptic world devastated by a fungus that turns humans into violent creatures. The story follows Joel (Pascal), a tough survivor, who is tasked with taking Ellie (Bella Ramsey), a young girl immune to the infection, across the United States. Along the way, they develop a deep bond while facing dangers from both the infected and other survivors.

The Last of Us is available to stream on Max.

Vanessa Kirby

[RELATED: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Has One Glaring Absence (Is That a Good Thing?)]

Sue Storm has a role in Fantastic Four that promises big things, especially considering Vanessa Kirby’s impressive track record. The actress is not a stranger to many viewers, having starred in numerous well-known productions. Films like Genius, Me Before You, Fast and Furious: Hobbs & Shaw, Napoleon, and the Mission Impossible franchise are just a few of the big titles on Kirby’s resume. She’s an Oscar-nominated actress, but it was The Crown that set her on the path to becoming a mainstay in the industry. Her portrayal of Princess Margaret earned her a BAFTA for Best Supporting Actress in a Television Role and an Emmy nomination. The Crown is one of the most awarded TV productions, and Kirby’s performance in the drama was praised for being captivating and magnetic. Her ability to capture the complexity of the character is remarkable.

The Crown tells the story of Queen Elizabeth II’s life and the major historical events that shaped her reign. Across its seasons, the series dives into the political challenges, family conflicts, and behind-the-scenes moments of the British monarchy.

The Crown is available to stream on Netflix.

Joseph Quinn

The famous Johnny Storm is one of the MCU’s best bets, especially since Joseph Quinn has recently started making a name for himself. A rising star, he’s been in demand for big projects like A Quiet Place: Day One and Gladiator II, but before that, his career included roles in very different productions like Dickensian, Howards End, and Catherine the Great. Still, his breakout role was as Eddie Munson in Stranger Things, a performance that earned him several nominations as a breakthrough actor, including a nomination for the 2022 Saturn Award. His time on the show was short but impactful, as his character helped boost the ratings for season four. Quinn quickly gained a fan base and became one of the most promising talents of his generation.

Stranger Things is set in the 1980s in the fictional town of Hawkins. When a boy goes missing, his friends uncover a government conspiracy and a dark dimension called the Upside Down. With the help of Eleven, a girl with telekinetic powers, they face terrifying creatures and uncover countless dangerous secrets.

Stranger Things is available to stream on Netflix.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach

The new version of Ben Grimm is eagerly awaited by fans, and just from the teaser, it’s clear that Ebon Moss-Bachrach is going to be a standout. With a solid career in several productions, his most recognizable roles include shows like Girls and The Punisher (which shows he’s no stranger to the Marvel universe). He also appeared in Andor, a series in the Star Wars franchise, but it’s impossible to talk about the actor without mentioning The Bear. His portrayal of Richard “Richie” Jerimovich earned him two statuettes for Best Supporting Actor in a Comedy Series at the 2024 Emmy Awards and a Golden Globe nomination. The series itself has become well-known in the awards circuit, and his performance has been widely praised with descriptions like “incredible” and “phenomenal.”

The Bear follows Carmy Berzatto (Jeremy Allen White), a talented young chef who returns to his hometown in Chicago to take over his family’s failing restaurant after the death of his brother. The drama explores his struggles to turn the business around while dealing with family tensions, a chaotic staff, and the weight of his past.

The Bear is available to stream on Hulu.

Ralph Ineson

Galactus is the villain in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and even though his appearance in the teaser wasn’t too prominent, his interpreter promises big things. Ralph Ineson has already made a name for himself in the industry, with a career filled with major productions like the original The Office, the Harry Potter franchise, Guardians of the Galaxy, Kingsman: The Secret Service, Game of Thrones, Chernobyl, The Green Knight, Ready Player One, The Northman, Nosferatu, and the upcoming Frankenstein. But it was in Robert Eggers’ The Witch that he really made his mark, earning a few awards nominations, including the 2017 Chainsaw Award for Best Supporting Actor. His deeply emotional performance (as “William”) was praised for conveying the character’s internal struggles and unwavering faith, with his torment being described as “palpable.”

The Witch is set in 17th-century New England and follows a Puritan family who, after being expelled from their community, settle on an isolated farm on the edge of a forest. When their youngest son mysteriously disappears, strange events begin to haunt the family, sparking paranoia and distrust among them.

The Witch is available to stream on Amazon Prime Video.

Julia Garner

Silver Surfer will also be part of the Fantastic Four reboot, with Julia Garner bringing the character to life. Both in film and TV, she’s widely recognized for her work in well-reviewed projects like The Perks of Being a Wallflower, The Assistant, Sin City: A Dame to Kill For, Dirty John, and she recently starred in Wolf Man. However, Ozark is likely one of her standout roles, earning her three consecutive Emmy Awards for Best Supporting Actress in a Drama Series and a Golden Globe. But her greatest role so far is in Inventing Anna, where she plays the character Anna Sorokin. This series, based on a true story, is one of the most prestigious and critically acclaimed of recent years, boosting her career even further with nominations for top awards.

Inventing Anna is based on the true story of Anna Sorokin, a Russian con artist who pretended to be a wealthy heiress named Anna Delvey, swindling New York’s elite with scams on hotels, banks, and businessmen. The series follows journalist Vivian Kent, who investigates the case and interviews people close to the scammer.

Inventing Anna is available to stream on Netflix.

John Malkovich

As for John Malkovich’s role, we can only speculate for now. His appearance in the Fantastic Four f=teaser trailer was brief, but it left a sense of mystery. Still, it’s safe to say it’s going to be an incredible performance, considering the actor is one of the most renowned in the cast. He has won numerous awards and nominations, including Oscars, Golden Globes, BAFTA, and Screen Actors Guild awards. Some of his greatest works include Dangerous Liaisons, In the Line of Fire, The Man in the Iron Mask, Shadow of the Vampire, Red, and Bird Box. However, Being John Malkovich is definitely where he delivered one of his best performances. The film became one of the most cult classics of his career, praised for its self-deprecation and the metalinguistic tone of its narrative.

Being John Malkovich is a surreal comedy that follows Craig Schwartz, a frustrated puppeteer who discovers a secret portal inside an office that leads directly into the mind of actor John Malkovich. By entering the portal, one can experience his life for 15 minutes.

Being John Malkovich is available to stream on Max.

Paul Walter Hauser

It’s no surprise that Marvel loves to keep the suspense until the last minute, so the situation with Paul Walter Hauser is just as mysterious – his role is still unknown. However, he’s already widely recognized for his work in great productions like I, Tonya, Cruella, BlacKkKlansman, Richard Jewell, Inside Out 2, and Cobra Kai. To give a sense of his range, his best performance so far has been in Black Bird, where he plays Larry Hall. For this role, he won both a Golden Globe and an Emmy, and his reputation has only grown, with critics praising his work across the board for creating a sense of constant unease and suspense, skillfully balancing moments of fragility with rising tension.

Black Bird is based on real events and follows Jimmy Keene, a former American football player sentenced to ten years in prison for drug trafficking. To reduce his sentence, he’s offered a deal by the FBI: infiltrate a maximum-security prison and get a confession from serial murder suspect Larry Hall.

Black Bird is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Natasha Lyonne

Natasha Lyonne is known for her versatility, and whatever character she plays in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s guaranteed to be spectacular. She first rose to prominence in the American Pie films but also shone in independent productions like Slums of Beverly Hills and But I’m a Cheerleader. However, her fame skyrocketed with series like Orange Is the New Black, Poker Face, and especially Russian Doll – without a doubt the biggest project of her career, which she also co-created. As Nadia Vulvokov, she earned numerous Emmy nominations, Golden Globe nominations, Saturn Awards, and Writers Guild of America Awards, among others. Her performance is particularly praised for its originality authenticity, and depth. For many, it’s considered one of the most brilliant interpretations.

Russian Doll follows Nadia Vulvokov, a sarcastic and sassy programmer who gets stuck in a time loop, repeatedly reliving the night of her 36th birthday in New York. Each time she dies, she returns to the same moment in the bathroom at the party.

Russian Doll is available to stream on Netflix.

Sarah Niles

Wrapping up the movie’s mysterious cast is Sarah Niles. She’s definitely no stranger, thanks to her work on Beautiful People, Doctor Who, Catastrophe, and Netflix’s Sandman. Her feature films are varied, with standouts including Happy-Go-Lucky, London Boulevard, and the highly anticipated F1. However, it was in the award-winning Ted Lasso, where she played Dr. Sharon Fieldstone, that she earned her most acclaimed role. Her performance in the series earned her Emmy recognition on two consecutive occasions, and she also won the 2022 Screen Actors Guild Award for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series.

Ted Lasso follows the life of Ted (Jason Sudeikis), an American soccer coach who’s hired to manage an English soccer team – AFC Richmond – despite having no experience in the sport.

Ted Lasso is available to stream on Apple TV+.

Fantastic Four: First Steps has a theatrical release date of July 25th.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer has fans talking, as this Marvel Cinematic Universe reboot of the franchise already looks a lot better than the previous installments from 2005 and 2015, respectively. While the first Fantastic Four (2025) trailer did the job of selling fans on the primary characters of the Fantastic Four and (most of) their powers, it also introduced us to the vision of an alternate Earth, invoking the spirit of the Golden Age of Marvel Comics, crafted by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. However, for all the bright and spirited retro-futuristic wonder shown in the trailer, Marvel fans have been unable to shake the feeling that there’s a sense of peril permeating the Fantastic Four trailer – and that one line of dialogue could be saying so much more than it initially seems.

As the trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps builds to a triumphant climax, we hear voiceover from Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), as they discuss the state of their family. Admittedly, the bits of dialogue may be cut together from different parts of the film, but the conversation basically hints at Reed’s anxiety at the team having to take on some kind of space flight mission – and for Reed, it’s a traumatic echo of the mission where things went wrong and the four ended up being painfully endowed with their fantastical powers. Sue tries to reassure Reed by reminding him of the strength of each member of the Fantastic Four’s character, as well as their powerful bond, together. Sue ends her speech by declaring that “Whatever life throws at us, we’ll face it together, as a family.”

What Threat Are the F4 Facing As A Family?

Based on Sue’s stressed/anguished look at the moment when she delivers that line, some fans think that this moment (and her entire speech reassuring Reed) is inspired by the desperation of the Fantastic Four having to make an actual journey into mystery by fleeing their home reality before it’s destroyed by incursion, to keep their family alive long enough to find a solution to the multiversal crisis.

[RELATED: 3 MCU Roles John Malkovich Might Be Playing in Fantastic Four: First Steps]

Now, to play Devil’s Advocate: there’s just as much of a chance that this scene with Sue Storm reaffirming the strength and bonds of the F4 could be in the climatic battle against Galactus. Galactus is enough of a world-ending threat that The Fantastic Four could be facing real life-or-death stakes taking him on – especially if space is going to be the battlefield. Reed would obviously be twitchy about going back to space to battle a cosmic power, and Sue would need to reassure him while also acknowledging that this could be their final battle – which they’ll face together.

Following that latter scenario: it would be just as easy to use the battle with Galactus – and whatever cataclysmic solution is required to stop him – to explain how the F4 get ripped out of their reality and are either stranded in another reality or get left stuck in some realms between realities. It would be the easiest road to making Fantastic Four: First Steps at once a standalone experience, and still a pivotal chapter of the MCU’s Multiversal Saga.

The Fantastic Four: First Step has a release date of July 25th.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer debut was a rousing success for Marvel Studios, as it totaled 202 million views over its first 24 hours. While that figure is not a new all-time record (the Deadpool & Wolverine teaser netted 365 million views in its first day), it was still a very impressive showing for the first look at the upcoming reboot. The Hollywood Reporter notes that the trailer premiere livestream, which featured Fantastic Four cast members at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, scored “the most views ever for a Marvel YouTube livestream.”

The trailer was also a hit on social media. Per The Hollywood Reporter, “social media volume” for the Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser hit nearly 500,000. When compared to social media response to other Marvel trailers, that trails only Deadpool & Wolverine.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer was unveiled earlier this week, giving audiences a taste of one of the year’s most anticipated titles. The footage highlighted several key elements, including the movie’s unique 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic aesthetic, all-star cast, and comics-accurate Galactus design. As Disney kicks off the Fantastic Four marketing campaign, the trailer was accompanied by posters hyping the film’s summer release.

[RELATED – Did The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Edit Out Reed’s Stretching Powers?]

As the MCU’s Multiverse Saga progresses, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a very pivotal project, marking the long-awaited arrival of Marvel’s First Family to the franchise. It’s already been confirmed that Fantastic Four stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, illustrating Marvel has big plans for the characters moving forward.

Considering the magnitude of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the trailer debut was as great as Marvel could have hoped for. There have already been two poorly received attempts at a Fantastic Four film series, which could have negatively impacted the general public’s interest in these characters. Fortunately, enthusiasm for the MCU’s reboot appears to be high, which should bode well for First Steps‘ prospects moving forward. It’s obviously far too early for any box office tracking to be available, but if the trailer got this kind of response, it stands reason to believe the film will be a sizable draw over the busy summer movie season. Fans have wanted to see Marvel Studios take a stab at adapting Fantastic Four for years, and they’re excited by what they see.

The Multiverse Saga has experienced its fair share of ups and downs, with movies like The Marvels underwhelming at the box office and TV shows like Secret Invasion earning mixed reviews. Marvel was able to bounce back in a big way last year with the record-breaking performance of Deadpool & Wolverine, and it’s going to be important for the franchise to maintain that momentum as they build towards a (hopefully) satisfying conclusion in Secret Wars. This month’s Captain America: Brave New World is expected to be a box office hit, potentially setting the stage for Marvel to have a lucrative 2025. If future looks at The Fantastic Four: First Steps continue to thrill audiences, the studio should have a lot to celebrate this year.

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Marvel Studios just released the first teaser trailer for their highly anticipated film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Fans are thrilled at the prospect of Marvel’s First Family finally joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe and all of the narrative possibilities this presents. While the teaser isn’t very long, it does give fans a sense of what to expect when it opens in July of this year. We catch glimpses of the retro-futuristic universe the film takes place in,  a bit of the family dynamic, and even a peek at Galactus, one of the Fantastic Four’s oldest enemies. All in all, the movie is shaping up to be a pretty faithful adaptation of the source material.

Of course, because this is just a teaser, it leaves fans with even more questions than answers. John Malkovich can be seen in the teaser, but who is he playing? Why is the film called First Steps? And will Doctor Doom make his appearance in this film?

But the teaser presents fans with another mystery that’s got fans buzzing: How come we got to see everyone’s powers on display except those of Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic?

The teaser trailer shows us short flashes of Sue Storm turning invisible and generating force fields, Johnny Storm igniting as the Human Torch, and Ben Grimm in his rocky form as the Thing, but we never see Reed and his superhuman stretchy powers. In fact, despite having a large presence in the teaser, he’s there more to show off his intellectual rather than his physical abilities. There’s one particular shot, however, that looks like it may have been edited, which is when Reed is working out some equations on a chalkboard. Look to his left, and you’ll see that the shadow obscuring the chalkboard looks especially pronounced, like it was added in after the fact.

We’re purely speculating here, but there may be a couple of reasons why his stretchy powers may have been edited out of the teaser.

For example, the powers that be may have concluded that the effects needed to bring his elasticity to life weren’t quite ready to show the world. This would give the visual effects team more time to perfect the effect. Past depictions of Reed’s powers have been far from perfect, so here’s hoping Marvel Studios goes the extra mile to make it look great onscreen.

Another reason why Reed’s elastic abilities may have been edited out of the teaser could be that this shot is hiding something important. What it could be is anybody’s guess, but this wouldn’t be the first time Marvel Studios has edited out a spoiler-y detail from a trailer. One of the trailers for Spider-Man: No Way Home featured a shot of Tom Holland’s Spider-Man leaping into action during the climactic fight scene at the Statue of Liberty. But eagle-eyed fans noticed not only how strange it was that one Spider-Man was taking on multiple villains at the same time, but that there was a moment when the Lizard seemed to be kicked in the face by an invisible force. This reveal only fueled fan speculation that Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield’s Spider-Men would be in the film, as well. This rumor, of course, turned out to be true.

[RELATED: What Is the Future Foundation? The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Explained]

Is That Shot Really Important?

While there’s definitely the possibility that this shot is hiding something that will prove crucial in the film, there’s also the possibility that the shot won’t even end up in the final cut of the movie. There have been plenty of trailers for past Marvel Studios films that featured shots that didn’t make the finished product, such as the shot of the Hulk charging with the Avengers in Wakanda from the trailer for Avengers: Infinity War or the shot of Spider-Man swinging through the sky with Iron Man flying next to him in the trailer for Spider-Man: Homecoming. The suspicious-looking shot may even just be a placeholder used to fill up some runtime.

We may very well be making something out of nothing. But still, it sure is fun to speculate. Chime in below with your thoughts on that shot!

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25th.

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Ben Grimm, a.k.a. Thing, is the hardest member of the Fantastic Four to get right, which is saying something since the other three members can turn invisible, stretch, and catch on fire. But to be fair to the attempts seen thus far, Thing is also a big rock with eyes and a mouth; as a character, he’s a tall order to get right for comic aficionados, as well as mainstream moviegoers. That said, the four attempts at crafting a live-action Thing thus far have varied greatly in their effectiveness. And now that the first trailer for Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps has hit the internet, the question is begged just how the Shakman/Ebon Moss-Bachrach version stacks up against the three previous renditions.

Given how Thing is a character that requires special effects to bring to life, one might assume that it’s a case of increasing returns. Yet that’s not how it panned out, as sometimes older practical effects can prove more convincing than newer CGI. Below you’ll see how four different versions of Thing stack up to one another.

4) Fantastic Four (2015)

Josh Trank’s Fantastic Four is notoriously one of the most broken superhero movie films out there. Its reputation is warranted, as not only does it fail all of its iconic characters, but it doesn’t even manage to function as a coherent film. Trank’s film makes Reed Richards, Sue and Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm cookie-cutter versions of their comic book counterparts, with less development than the Tim Story movies.

The movie barrels through the transformation part of its narrative so quickly that the ultra-talented Jamie Bell barely even gets to make an impression as Ben Grimm before he’s turned into the clunky CGI monstrosity. It says a lot that the one impressive shot of him from the trailer (the jumping out of the plane scene) was cut from the final film. It’s equally telling that Trank and other powers that be behind the film chose to take a page out of the playbook of Godzilla (1998) and shroud Thing in darkness most of the time as if that would be enough to distract audiences from the shabbiness of the CGI.

3) The Fantastic Four (1994)

The Fantastic Four was made solely to allow German filmmaker Bernd Eichinger to continue to hold the rights to the IP – and it shows. It’s a goofy, cheap-looking, ugly movie that fits right in with executive producer Roger Corman’s other goofy, cheap-looking movies. And, yet, it’s still better than Trank’s.

For one, the 1994 version functions as a film, even if it’s not a particularly compelling version. Two, it actually manages to come fairly close to nailing Thing, at least given the limited budget at hand. With his protruding forehead, it seems those behind the film at least tried to get the Jack Kirby-reminiscent comics version of the character right, even if they never quite intended for him to be seen by any theatergoers. In fact, the body suit used for Thing is actually somewhat impressive (again, considering the budget), especially when it comes to the puppeteer-manipulated facial expressions.

[RELATED: Every MCU Character Appearing in Captain America 4]

2) Fantastic Four (2005)

Until now, Tim Story’s two Fantastic Four movies were as close as audiences got to a fully effective cinematic take on the characters. In other words, the bar was set mighty low for The Fantastic Four: The First Steps. That said, there were a few aspects that worked well for both 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.

Chief among those elements is Chris Evans as Johnny Storm and Michael Chiklis as Thing. Of the three pre-MCU projects, it was the only one where the actor’s version of Ben Grimm carried through to Thing after the transformation. That’s a compliment because it’s hard to like a giant rock man if he comes across as far more rock than man. Chiklis was able to imbue the character with touching humanity and the loyal nature that essentially sits at the heart of what makes Grimm/Thing an iconic presence in the Marvel source material. The writing and juvenile humor that surrounded the actor in the two movies may let him down, just as the bulky prosthetics suit holds back his ability to be expressive, but Chiklis makes it work.

1) The Fantastic Four: First Steps (2025)

The teaser trailer for It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Game of Thrones director Matt Shakman’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps has dropped, and it does not disappoint in debuting the film’s take on Thing, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear). For the second time, the character is portrayed via motion capture and CGI rather than prosthetics, but it’s a far cry from the special effects used to bring him to not-quite-life in Trank’s disaster.

Like the 1994 version, First Steps is clearly going for a comics-accurate rendition of the character. As Jack Kirby, who co-created the character, confirmed before his passing, Thing was based on both his personality and the structure of his face. It looks as though the fourth version of a cinematic Thing has managed to nail that, and it’s exciting to imagine him in action.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a family affair. Not only does the Marvel Studios movie introduce Marvel’s first family — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Susan Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), her brother Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and the family rock, Ben Grimm/the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — but the just-released first trailer teases a mystery character played by two-time Oscar nominee John Malkovich, who appears briefly with a beard, untamed white hair, and may be in a prison cell.

Malkovich is one of several actors cast in as-yet-unrevealed roles, although they weren’t shown in the 97-second teaser: Paul Walter Hauser (Inside Out 2), Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso), and Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face). Rounding out the cast are Julia Garner (Wolf Man) as Shalla-Bal/the Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson (Game of Thrones) as the planet-consuming Galactus.

RELATED: Why Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Set In the ‘60s

We’ve speculated that Hauser might be Harvey Elder, a.k.a. the subterranean supervillain the Mole Man, and Lyonne could be Alicia Masters, a blind woman who falls in love with the Thing and cares for the Silver Surfer when he first arrives on Earth to herald the arrival of Galactus. Now that we have the first footage from First Steps, here are three predictions about Malkovich’s Marvel character in The Fantastic Four:

Dr. Franklin Storm

Introduced in 1964’s Fantastic Four #31 by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, Dr. Franklin Storm is the fugitive father of Sue and Johnny Storm. When the Mole Man resurfaced with his army of Moloids for a third time (after FF #1 and #22), his subterranean subjects captured Sue and brought her to his underground domain. Reed, Johnny, and Ben rescued Sue, but she was left injured in critical condition from an explosion.

Doctors told the trio that only one man could perform the operation to save Sue’s life, but he was recently in prison until his much-publicized escape. Hearing about his daughter’s condition, Dr. Storm came out of hiding to the surprise of his son, who believed his father was dead. The surgery was a success, and Dr. Storm was immediately arrested.

Fantastic Four #32 revealed Dr. Storm’s tragic backstory: the esteemed surgeon failed to save his wife, Mary, after she was critically injured in a car crash, and then descended into a life of gambling and alcoholism. When he accidentally killed an underworld loan shark who came to collect on his gambling debts, a guilt-ridden Dr. Storm was sentenced 20 years to life for manslaughter.

Following this revelation, the shape-shifting Super-Skrull Kl’rt assumed Dr. Storm’s identity and banished him to space while posing as the “Invincible Man.” The Fantastic Four then defeated the Super-Skrull in the guise of Dr. Storm, who was returned to Earth rigged with a device meant to kill the Four. But Dr. Storm took the blast and died with his children by his side. Sue and Reed would later name their firstborn son in Franklin’s honor.

Nathaniel Richards

The Storm siblings aren’t the only members of the Fantastic Four with a long-lost father. 1984’s Fantastic Four #272 revealed that Reed’s scientist father, Nathaniel Richards, was a time traveler who invented a time machine.

Years after using his inherited wealth to fund the space flight that transformed Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben into the Fantastic Four, Reed was reunited with his father on Other-Earth in the year 1127 when the quartet traveled to this alternate future. He sired another son, Arthur Richards, and a daughter, Tara, with the Other-World warlord Cassandra, who he replaced as ruler upon her death.

Years later, in 1993’s Fantastic Four #375, Nathaniel time-traveled to the present day (clad in a high-tech armor) and met his grandson, Franklin Richards, for the first time. Nathaniel warned of a dystopian future — Earth-811, the designation of the timeline where most of mutantkind has been exterminated by the Sentinels in X-Men: Days of Future Past — and soon revealed his true motive: to save the universe by removing the increasingly powerful Franklin from the timeline.

Nathaniel escaped into the timestream with Franklin, but their son returned just moments later — aged up during the time that Nathaniel trained Franklin and Tara to be warriors in Elsewhen. That’s not the only twist in the Richards family tree: his alleged descendant is the other Nathaniel Richards, the timelord Kang the Conqueror from the 30th century.

Red Ghost

Malkovich’s long-haired look resembles Dr. Ivan Kragoff, a.k.a. the Red Ghost, a Soviet scientist and Communist introduced during the Space Race and Cold War between the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. in 1963’s Fantastic Four #13.

Planning to claim the Moon for the Communist Empire, Kragoff launched a ship into space to bombard himself and his comrades — the apes Igor, Miklho, and Peotor — with the same cosmic rays that gave the Fantastic Four their powers.

The cosmic radiation transformed Kragoff and his Super-Apes: the baboon Igor could shapeshift, the gorilla Miklho was granted super-strength, the orangutan Peotor was able to project magnetic and electric rays, and Kragoff could become intangible at will as the Red Ghost. Kragoff would become one of the Fantastic Four’s recurring foes, and would often align himself with the supervillain quartet the Frightful Four and the Intelligencia, a think tank of evil geniuses like M.O.D.O.K., the Leader, the Mad Thinker, the Wizard, and Doctor Doom.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25.

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Marvel Studios denies using any “generative artificial intelligence” software to create its newest poster for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The first trailer for the movie dropped on Tuesday morning, along with a new poster showing a cheering crowd celebrating the superhero team. Commenters quickly picked out some oddities in the image, speculating that it may have been created using the controversial new technology. However, in a statement published by The Wrap, a spokesperson for Marvel said that “AI was not used in the creation of these posters.” The harsh reaction shows just how important this issue will be going forward, especially among artists themselves.

The new Fantastic Four poster shows a crowd of people waving flags, brandishing signs, and flashing cameras for “Marvel’s First Family.” In just a moment of scrutiny, it’s pretty clear that this picture wasn’t really taken with a full crowd, but likely cut together with creative editing. However, some of the inconsistencies stood out to fans as possible evidence of AI — multiple people with the same face, arms held out at awkward angles, and most importantly, hands that seem to have the wrong number of fingers.

Many of these could be explained with hasty photoshop and editing, but the unreal extremities have become the most infamous telltale sign of photoshop. It’s unclear how exactly this poster was made, but Marvel assures fans that it didn’t use AI software. Many commenters are clearly not convinced, and will need an alternate explanation for mistakes like the wrong number of fingers on some hands.

[RELATED: Fantastic Four Clearly Reveals a Major Avengers Connection (Which Explains RDJ’s Doom Casting)]

“Generative AI” software has become widely available in recent years, and is already in use to produce text, images, and videos cheaply rather than paying professional artists and writers. However, the programs struggle to deliver on their promises, often producing images with uncanny issues and text riddled with dangerously false information. On top of that, many people are opposed to the use of this technology because of the way it effects working artists. Not only does it promise to take jobs away from artists, the software is created by violating the intellectual property rights of past artists and authors.

If all that weren’t enough, generative AI uses much more energy than other forms of computing, thus producing more carbon dioxide emissions and contributing disproportionately to the climate crisis. The data centers that support generative AI use a large amount of fresh water as well, which has already had a marked impact on parts of the world with water shortages.

The implementation of this kind of software in Hollywood is a major issue, and it’s not clear if Marvel is against it altogether. However, the studio denies using AI for these Fantastic Four posters. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th, 2025.

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Welcome to the age of Marvels. The Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser trailer stepped out on Tuesday into the retro-futuristic world of the 1960s, a version of the Marvel Cinematic Universe where the Future Foundation launched a rocket ship to space and changed the world Four-ever. The footage featured the first look at the titular quartet — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Susan Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — as well as John Malkovich’s mystery character and the planet-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson).

Marvel Studios also released a series of old-fashioned teaser posters ahead of the trailer launch, and one appears to show yet another Marvel character from the time period: Phil Sheldon.

RELATED: Why Marvel’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is Set In the ‘60s

A freelance news photographer, Phil’s camera lens captures some of the greatest, most picturesque moments of the Marvel Universe in 1994’s Marvels, a five-issue series from writer Kurt Busiek and artist Alex Ross. Over the decades-spanning series, Phil loses an eye photographing a battle between Namor the Sub-Mariner and the synthetic man Jim Hammond, the original Human Torch, and coins the term “Marvels” as he documents the emergence of costumed characters like Captain America, Spider-Man, the X-Men, and the Avengers.

The eyepatch-clad Phil photographed the Fantastic Four’s debut press conference in 1961, Reed and Sue’s engagement party and wedding in 1965, and the Fantastic Four’s first encounter with Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, in 1966.

Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family — Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben — as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal. The action adventure also stars Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles in undisclosed roles.

Marvel Studios’ Fantastic Four opens in theaters on July 25.

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The Devourer of Worlds is coming for the Fantastic Four. Fans got a glimpse at the fabled Marvel villain in the first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. We got to see the primary Fantastic Four cast of Reed Richards/ Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm / Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm / Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm / Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) all hanging out in the Baxter Building. But with any Marvel superhero movie, a Big Bad is waiting in the wings to test our heroes. For The Fantastic Four: First Steps, it’s Galactus. From what we can see, the film sticks to Galactus’ comics roots.

Galactus appears at the 1 minute 27 second mark in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer. In a wide shot of New York City from the sky, Galactus’ shadow can be seen towering over the Big Apple. Galactus has his signature helmet on with the two side pieces showing up in the shadow. Another scene featuring the Statue of Liberty takes Galactus out of the shadows and shows him in full form from behind. As large as the Statue of Liberty is, Galactus appears to be even bigger. This makes sense since Marvel Studios is sticking with Galactus’ comics-accurate look.

[RELATED: Who Is John Malkovich Playing in Fantastic Four: First Steps (and Why It Matters)?]

The comics-accurate Galactus is music to the ears of fans after his previous appearance in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. That film portrayed Galactus as a giant purple space cloud, which is a far cry from the menacing villain that eats worlds. Ralph Ineson plays Galactus in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the big question will be how his face is displayed. Will Ineson just do voiceover work with Galactus being primarily CGI, or will it be a mixture that’s similar to how Mark Ruffalo and Josh Brolin play Hulk and Thanos, respectively?

The synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps teases the inevitable showdown between Galactus and Marvel’s First Family. “Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / Thing. They’re joined by Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus, along with Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025.

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The teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally debuted on Tuesday morning, giving Marvel fans their first look at the retro-futuristic, 1960s world of the new First Family. From the very first scene in the trailer, First Steps clearly sets itself apart from every other entry into the MCU, though there’s one major connection to the rest of the franchise that fans will immediately recognize. That being the Baxter Building, the home base of the Fantastic Four, which is undoubtedly connected to the iconic Avengers Tower.

The first look at the Baxter Building shows that it is structurally very similar to the Avengers Tower that Tony Stark introduced in the early days of the MCU. It’s also located in the same place in New York City. Yes, there are some structural changes, but there are two key things to remember about this whole situation. First and foremost, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is (most likely) in a different timeline than the one we’ve been watching throughout the MCU. Secondly, Tony Stark built Avengers Tower on top of an existing structure on the same property, which could have easily resembled the Baxter Building.

When you look even closer, you’ll notice that the interior shots from the Fantastic Four trailer also resemble parts of the Stark/Avengers Tower that we remember from previous MCU films. The rounded layout with the massive windows overlooking the city (and the bar off to the side) looks an awful lot like the room where Loki and Hulk had their “puny god” exchange in The Avengers.

The interior space has obviously been altered to fit the time period, but there are a lot of direct similarities between the two. The ceiling lights in certain areas appear to be the same, the bar is in a similar location, and the steps of the conversation pit (a staple of retro architecture) are in roughly the same place as steps we see in Tony’s version of the tower.

Of course, you can’t talk about similarities between these two buildings without talking about the Robert Downey Jr.-sized elephant in the room. Downey is helped start the MCU with his role as Tony Stark in Iron Man, and he became the cornerstone of the franchise over the years. After his character died in Avengers: Endgame, he’s returning to the franchise in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday to play the villainous Doctor Doom.

As we know, Doom is the arch rival of the Fantastic Four, as well as the next big villain of the Avengers franchise. First Steps taking place in an alternate timeline plants the seeds for there to be a Doom that has been around for a while, but hasn’t had the opportunity to cross paths with the Avengers. This is likely how we get a Doom that looks exactly like the man who once led the Avengers and saved an entire planet.

[RELATED: Who Is John Malkovich Playing in Fantastic Four?]

Perhaps he had a hand in designing the Baxter Building that exists in the world of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, linking him even more to the Tony Stark that we know from the MCU. Maybe Doom buys the building at some point and re-creates it in his image, just as Tony did.

This all makes a compelling case for Downey’s MCU return to take place before we expected it, showing up as early as this summer when The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters.

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The first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has given fans a tantalizing glimpse of John Malkovich’s mysterious character. In the trailer, Malkovich emerges from the shadows with flowing white hair, a significant bald patch, and an unkempt beard. While Marvel Studios hasn’t officially confirmed his role, rumors say that Malkovich is portraying Ivan Kragoff, better known as the Red Ghost, one of the Fantastic Four’s earliest adversaries. The character’s white hair and bald patch have been distinctive traits since he first appeared in Marvel Comics in April 1963. This potential casting carries significant weight for the film’s 1960s setting and broader connections to the Space Race era that defined early Fantastic Four comics.

If Malkovich does end up playing the Red Ghost, his MCU version will be somewhat different from the villain’s beardless comic book counterpart. However, the essence of Ivan Kragoff – a brilliant but ruthless Soviet scientist – is perfectly suited for Malkovich’s intense screen presence. While Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) are confirmed as the film’s primary threats, Kragoff’s inclusion would ground the Fantastic Four: First Steps’ cosmic story in the same Cold War tensions that served as background for the First Family’s early adventures.

[RELATED: How the Fantastic Four: First Steps Teaser Does (and Doesn’t) Set Up a Comics Accurate Origin]

In the comics, Ivan Kragoff first appeared in Fantastic Four #13 as a Leningrad-born scientist obsessed with claiming the Moon for the Soviet Union. What made Kragoff unique was his twisted methodology, as he deliberately exposed himself and three trained apes (Mikhlo the gorilla, Igor the baboon, and Peotr the orangutan) to cosmic rays, replicating the accident that created the Fantastic Four. The experiment granted Kragoff the power to become intangible and invisible, while his “Super Apes” gained various abilities, including super-strength, shape-shifting, and magnetic powers. While Ivan’s Super Apes could be too much for MCU sensibilities, his scientific background could still play a significant role in First Steps.

The Red Ghost Embodiment of Cold War Science Fits The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Setting First Steps in the 1960s aligns with Kragoff’s comic book origins, as this was an age when scientific achievement meant national pride and military superiority. Furthermore, the character represents everything Reed Richards could have become if driven by ideology rather than curiosity. Both men sought to push human achievement through space exploration, but their paths diverged dramatically in their methods and goals. These dynamics could serve the movie by showing how individual choices, not cosmic powers, lead people like Reed to become heroes. After all, Richards’ accident led him to protect humanity, while Kragoff’s deliberate exposure to cosmic rays showed his willingness to sacrifice anything for Soviet supremacy. 

In the comics, Reed and Ivan’s ideological battle played out across several Moon-based confrontations that eventually drew the attention of Uatu the Watcher. While it’s unlikely First Steps would copy the comic book story of the Red Ghost, these elements could still tie directly into the movie’s larger narrative about humanity’s place in a cosmic universe, especially with Galactus threatening Earth. 

Finally, rather than depicting the Red Ghost as a Cold War caricature, Malkovich could deliver a more nuanced portrayal exploring the human cost of unchecked scientific ambition. This theme resonates strongly with the Fantastic Four’s origin story, potentially adding depth to a film that balances cosmic threats with human drama.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25th.

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The first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps gives fans plenty of reasons to be excited. The footage introduces H.E.R.B.I.E., a beloved robotic companion from the comics making his live-action debut. The trailer also emphasizes the loving dynamics at the core of Marvel’s First Family, showing genuine warmth between Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Finally, we even get a stunning glimpse of Galactus in his comic-accurate purple armor, a far cry from the nebulous cloud that threatened Earth in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. However, amid all these promising elements, one glaring omission raises concerns: the trailer completely avoids showing Reed Richards’ signature stretching powers. 

In the brief first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, we see Sue turning invisible, Johnny igniting to fly through the night sky,  and Ben’s rocky body racing through the streets, ready to clobber an unseen adversary. Yet, Reed’s elastic abilities remain conspicuously absent from the footage. This choice is made even more noticeable by how the trailer dedicates significant time to establishing each character and underlining how their powers echo their personality — Sue even directly addresses the fact Ben has always been “a rock” even before their cosmic accident and that Johnny is a hot head. So, it’s not random that we don’t see Reed stretch his limbs. Instead, this decision is likely connected to the character’s complicated cinematic history.

[RELATED: How the Fantastic Four: First Steps Teaser Does (and Doesn’t) Set Up a Comics Accurate Origin]

Live-action adaptations of the Fantastic Four have consistently struggled with portraying Reed’s stretching powers convincingly. In the 2005 Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Ioan Gruffudd’s elastic abilities often appeared cartoonish, with the CGI failing to make the power feel grounded or impactful. The 2015 reboot starring Miles Teller faced similar criticism, with many viewers finding the visual effects of Reed’s powers unsettling rather than heroic. Even John Krasinski’s brief appearance as Reed in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness limited the character’s stretching to a quick moment before his demise. 

By hiding Reed’s power, Marvel Studios could betray the secret that they are not confident in the effects they crafted for the movie. Even worse, it could mean they are still struggling to give Reed a believable superpower in post-production. Both options are worrisome, considering the movie is just a few months away. However, there is a positive way to look at Reed’s lack of stretchy powers in The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer.

The Lack of Stretchy Powers Could Be a Good Sign for The Fantastic Four: First Steps

The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer’s reluctance to showcase Reed’s elastic abilities might actually signal an exciting creative direction for the character. Throughout the footage, we see Reed working complex equations on massive blackboards and manipulating holographic displays, emphasizing his genius-level intellect, arguably his most significant contribution to the Marvel Universe. In other words, this focus on brains over physical prowess aligns perfectly with the comics, where Reed’s most outstanding achievements have always stemmed from his mind rather than his stretching powers.

By positioning Reed’s intelligence at the forefront, First Steps might do justice to a character whose true superpower has always been his intellect. Furthermore, the trailer’s retro-futuristic aesthetic and emphasis on cosmic exploration suggest a film more interested in scientific discovery than a superhero spectacle. This approach would honor the Fantastic Four’s original concept as explorers pushing the boundaries of human knowledge, with their powers serving as tools for discovery rather than simple weapons for combat. Finally, this interpretation could help differentiate the MCU’s take on the Fantastic Four from previous adaptations. Instead of making Reed’s stretching powers the centerpiece of action sequences, the film might focus on how his scientific knowledge helps the team navigate cosmic threats. 

The success of this approach ultimately depends on how well the film balances its various elements. While downplaying Reed’s elastic abilities might disappoint some fans, prioritizing his intellectual contributions could deliver the definitive live-action version of Marvel’s smartest hero that audiences have been waiting for.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25th.

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Marvel’s First Family step into the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Anticipation has been high on seeing Marvel’s take on the Fantastic Four, with the film being the first time a Fantastic Four movie is being released under Marvel Studios. The Fantastic Four is one of Marvel’s biggest franchises alongside the Avengers and X-Men, and the FF have a rich catalog of characters ripe for adaptation. For now, fans can sit back and enjoy the first teaser trailer for the upcoming Fantastic Four movie.

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / Thing. They’re joined by Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus, along with Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich.

[RELATED: 10 Fantastic Four Stories Perfect for MCU Fans]

One of the first additional cast members to be announced for The Fantastic Four: First Steps was Julia Garner, who plays Shalla-Ball, the female Silver Surfer. ComicBook spoke to the Silver Surfer actress in support of her movie, Wolf Man. We asked Garner her thoughts about playing Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and if anything stood out or surprised her about prepping for the role. “I mean, just how big it is. It’s a big universe, and I feel so grateful I get to be a little part of it to be honest,” Garner told ComicBook. “Everybody on that job, I think the casting is phenomenal and they’re so wonder. And [director] Matt Shakman is amazing. I’m very excited.”

The official synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps reads, “Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25, 2025.

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After several failed attempts to bring Marvel’s First Family to the big screen, Marvel Studios is now poised to deliver what could be the best – and most faithful – cinematic version of the Fantastic Four ever. Titled The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the film is directed by Matt Shakman, and follows in the footsteps of a 1994 movie produced by Roger Corman (which was never technically released), plus the two Tim Story-helmed movies, 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer; and Josh Trank’s disastrous bomb, Fant4stic, released in 2015. However, now that the Fantastic Four are set to make their arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, fans are excited that Marvel Studios will deliver a film that more closely resembles the source material.

Like most upcoming MCU projects, plot details are still very much under wraps, other than that it’s set on an alternate Earth and in a retro-futuristic 1960s. We also know that the movie will feature Galactus and Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer. The recently released trailer teaser didn’t reveal much more, but there are enough details to imply that the film will accurately portray the team’s origin story from the comics, while also differing from it in some intriguing ways.

What is the Fantastic Four’s Origin Story?

First appearing in The Fantastic Four #1, the comic tells the story of how brilliant scientist Reed Richards takes his then-girlfriend (and eventual wife) Sue Storm, Sue’s brother Johnny Storm, and his best friend Ben Grimm on an unauthorized space mission in a rocket that Reed designed.

While in space, the team is bombarded by cosmic rays that radically alter their DNA, giving them all superhuman abilities: Reed can stretch and contort his body; Sue can turn invisible and generate force fields; Johnny can turn his body into pure fire and fly; and Ben’s body has been transformed into organic rock, giving him a massive frame and dramatically enhanced strength.

From then on, the family pledged to use their powers for good, saving humanity on countless occasions as the Fantastic Four. One of the more fascinating elements of the team that separates them from most other superheroes is that they never bothered to conceal their true identities from the public, which makes them something more akin to celebrities.

How the Teaser Sets Up a Comics Accurate Origin

The teaser is very short, but if fans look closely, they’ll spot some recognizable details. For example, the film clearly takes place in an early 1960s setting, mirroring the team’s comic book debut in 1961. Also, look at what the TVs in the display window are showing: One of the TVs shows a rocket flying through the sky, while another shows the team in blue-and-white spacesuits, which are obvious references to the team’s space-based origin.

There’s also a partial view of what appears to be the Baxter Building (which first appeared in Fantastic Four #3), the team’s base of operations. And if you look very closely, you’ll see that one of the TV screens is displaying footage of a snazzy blue-and-white car racing through the stress – could this be the Fantasticar, which also debuted in the same issue as the Baxter Building?

How the Teaser Does NOT Set Up a Comics Accurate Origin

[RELATED: Fantastic Four: The Big Things Marvel’s First Steps Trailer Needs to Get Right]

In the comics, Reed and his team went on an unauthorized space mission that resulted in them getting their superpowers. However, from the way it’s portrayed in the teaser, it looks like their space mission is not only authorized but publicized to the world. In fact, it’s not even confirmed that their space mission is how they’ll get their powers; considering how the MCU has been exploring the multiverse, could they instead get their powers from a convergence-like event rather than cosmic rays? Also, cosmic rays are no longer as mysterious today as they were when the original comic was written, so there’s a possibility that the Fantastic Four get their powers in some other fashion.

A big part of the reason why Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben go into space is to beat the Soviet Union in the Space Race that the U.S. was involved in. There’s no mention of that in the teaser, and we wouldn’t blame Marvel Studios for omitting that detail here since it may seem like an odd relic to include in the film, even if it does take place during the Cold War.

It should also be noted that the Marvel Studios X account promoting the teaser states “The Future Foundation invites you to take your first steps into a fantastic new era.” The Future Foundation didn’t appear in the comics until Fantastic Four #579 in 2010, making it unrelated to the team’s origin story, though there hasn’t been any confirmation yet that it will appear in the movie.

Faithful in Spirit if Not In Every Detail

Of course The Fantastic Four: First Steps will differ from the source material in a variety of ways; there are just too many aspects of the original comics that are far too dated for modern audiences or just won’t work in a different medium.

But what truly matters is that the film is faithful to the tone and spirit of the Fantastic Four comics, and from what little we’ve seen of the film so far, this seems to be the case. The film looks to have a bright, optimistic aesthetic that evokes wonder and awe, setting it apart from the darker, more intense entries in the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Some purists may quibble about the details, but so far, The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems poised to satisfy even the most hardcore fans.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.

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The Fantastic Four: First Steps is boldly going where no Fantastic Four movie has gone before: the 1960s. Inspired by the classic Marvel comic books by co-creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, which launched the modern Marvel Universe with Fantastic Four #1 in 1961, the Marvel Studios reboot is set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world — one where the Future Foundation ushered in a fantastic new era of an alternate-timeline Marvel Cinematic Universe.

“We’re not just doing the ’60s, we’re doing retro-future ’60s,” director Matt Shakman said at Comic-Con 2024. “It’s part what you know from the 1960s, but part what you’ve never seen before.”

RELATED: What Is the Future Foundation? The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Explained

What you have seen before, however, is the origin of the four in 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2015’s Fant4stic. The first Marvel-made FF movie isn’t an origin story, and instead begins with the Fab Four — Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/the Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) — already fully formed as Marvel’s first family of superhero scientists/explorers/adventurers/imaginauts.

So why the Sixties? While the Space Race and the Cold War between the United States and the Soviet Union inspired the Fantastic Four’s creation — the irradiated quartet was bombarded by cosmic rays during a premature test flight to beat the USSR to space — the FF is rooted in pure, old-fashioned optimism.

“More than just the visual aesthetics, the ‘60s to me are all about optimism,” Shakman said. “It’s about looking to the stars and dreaming about traveling into space. It’s about how with the right heart and the right mind, you can do anything — which is what the Fantastic Four is all about.”

Although First Steps is the first movie to imagine the Fantastic Four in their native 1960s, the concept predates Marvel Studios. Peyton Reed, who went on to direct the MCU Ant-Man movies, developed a version of the 2005 Fantastic Four film that would have been a period piece when 20th Century Fox still held the rights (which were eventually reacquired by Disney-owned Marvel in 2019).

“I was doing a movie at Fox at the time and they were gonna do Fantastic Four, and I went in and pitched to [then Fox Filmed Entertainment CEO] Tom Rothman,” Reed revealed in 2018. “I developed it for about a year and we went through some different permutations and some different writers, but one of the big ideas was a set-in-the-’60s thing.”

Reed added that his unmade Fantastic Four movie was structurally similar to another movie starring the other Fab Four: 1964’s A Hard Day’s Night, the musical comedy that starred the Beatles.

“We were not going to even deal with the origin story,” Reed said. “It was just going to be like you’re in Downtown Manhattan and they’re there. It was a pretty exciting idea. At the time — this was 2002 or ’03 — early on, way pre-MCU, I felt like Fox was not gonna make it.”

According to Reed, it seemed that Fox and producers Constantin Film and 1492 Pictures “wanted to make a B-movie out of it,” so the filmmaker parted ways with the project. The FF eventually made it to screen in the 2005 film from director Tim Story, which was set in the modern day and starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans, and Michael Chiklis as a group of astronauts who are exposed to cosmic radiation and must band together to use their powers to thwart electrical enemy Doctor Doom (Julian McMahon).

In the new movie, the Fantastic Four “face their most daunting challenge yet,” per the synopsis. “Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps — starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and John Malkovich, with Julia Garner as Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus — opens in theaters on July 25.

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There may be two Marvel movies between now and the summer, but all eyes are fixed on The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This is the first time Marvel Studios has been able to center a story around the First Family of Marvel Comics, a quartet of the most iconic characters in the publisher’s history. We know that the first trailer is coming on Tuesday, and the lead-up to that event has brought forth the teaser poster for First Steps.

The poster that arrived on Monday is very simple, but it meshes perfectly with the campaign that Marvel has started. The entire thing is leaning into the 1960s aesthetic, as well as the space launch itself that ends up creating the heroes known as the Fantastic Four. On the poster is a button with the team’s logo on it, along will all four members of the group, seemingly advertising the launch event as they would have six decades ago. Take a look!

Many assumed that, with the Super Bowl around the corner, the first trailer for Marvel’s new take on the Fantastic Four would arrive sometime soon. The specific date for the trailer’s debut, however, made its way online over the weekend.

The press release announcing the guest lineup for Good Morning America throughout the week initially included confirmation of the morning show debuting the Fantastic Four trailer on Tuesday. The release was quickly changed to omit the Fantastic Four information, but it has proven to be true nonetheless.

[RELATED: Everything the Fantastic Four Trailer Needs to Get Right]

What that means for Marvel fans is that they’ll need to be up pretty early to see the first look at Fantastic Four: First Steps. Good Morning America kicks off at 7am ET every day, so the trailer will be up first thing in the morning.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the first live-action iteration of Marvel’s First Family since 2015, when Fox’s failed attempt at rebooting the property first hit theaters. This version is directed by Matt Shakman, the filmmaker behind WandaVision and some of the most memorable episodes of Game of Thrones.

The film stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards; Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm; Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm; Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm; Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer; and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. Also starring in the film are Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Sarah Niles.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in theaters on July 25th.

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“Welcome to the Future Foundation. Together, there is nothing we can’t do.” With those words, Reed Richards of the Fantastic Four — Marvel’s first family and superhero team of adventurers, explorers, and imaginauts — ushered in a new age: the future. Introduced in 2010’s Fantastic Four #579 from writer Jonathan Hickman and artist Neil Edwards, the FF was Mister Fantastic’s solution to the problems of tomorrow… today. With Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps returning to tomorrow today with a 1960s-set teaser ahead of Tuesday’s trailer launch, we’re answering the question: What is the Future Foundation?

In the Marvel Cinematic Universe, the Baxter Building-based Foundation is founded by Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), who was bombarded by cosmic rays on a trip to space with Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach). Together, they’re the Fantastic Four: Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing.

RELATED: Marvel Announces New Fantastic Four 2025 Series

“I pictured a place where the greatest minds of a generation could come together and not only examine the problems that currently confront us, but also aggressively look into the future… to envision the direction in which humanity should be headed… and boldly steer us there. In essence: to ask — and then answer — the hard questions.”

After resigning from the Singularity, a body of the greatest minds who had grown old and afraid of the future, Reed established the Future Foundation: a think tank comprised of the most brilliant young minds in the universe. Putting the future into the hands of those who would live in it, Reed and the Future Foundation would expand humanity’s horizons across the universe — and then the multiverse.

“The future of man is not one billion of us fighting over limited resources on a soon-to-be dead planet, but one trillion human beings spanning an entire galaxy. The future of man is not here… it is out there.”

The Future Foundation’s first class included Franklin Richards and his little sister, young genius Valeria — the children of Reed and Susan Richards — and Alex Power (of the super-group Power Pack); the holographic thought-projecting mutant Artie Maddicks; Tong, Turg, Korr, and Mik, advanced members of the subterranean race the Moloids; the fish-like Uhari children Vil and Wu; and Dragon Man, a self-aware android and former foe of the Fantastic Four.

After the (apparent) death of Johnny Storm in (2011’s Fantastic Four #587), the Fantastic Four rebranded as the FF. Superhero scientist Spider-Man joined the white-suited team in 2011’s FF #1, and Reed reunited with his time-displaced father, the time traveler Nathaniel Richards, who returned with knowledge from the distant future. Valeria also recruited her godfather — and the Four’s arch-nemesis, Victor von Doom, a.k.a. Doctor Doom — to join the new FF.

“Our curriculum will start at survival and end at the edge of eternal tomorrow.”

Future iterations of the team’s roster would eventually include Bentley-23, a teenage clone of the super-genius mad scientist called The Wizard; Onome, a Wakandan engineering prodigy; Alex’s older sister, Julie Powers, a.k.a. Lightspeed; and Franklin’s best friend, the power-dampening mutant known as Leech. 

A five-issue Fantastic Four spinoff, 2019’s Future Foundation, assembled the smartest kids in the multiverse as a team of spacefaring future problem-solvers who battled The Maker: the Reed Richards of the Ultimate Universe and a multiversal threat.

Throughout the roster changes, the FF’s mission remains the same: change the world for a better future.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps — starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and John Malkovich, with Julia Garner as Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus — opens only in theaters on July 25.

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Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps will be dropping its first trailer soon, as evidenced by a new “launch countdown” site that has a countdown clock leading to the debut of the first trailer for the movie, which will happen on Tuesday, February 4th. As the world waits to see what the first footage from Fantastic Four: First Steps looks like, there is a lot of discussion bubbling about what this film – more so than any Marvel Cinematic Universe movie before it – has to do to overcome the past. The fact is that this will be the third version of a Fantastic Four movie franchise that audiences have gotten since 2005, and the previous two were far from being loved by fans.

Below is a list of major bullet point items that Marvel Studios needs to check off to ensure that this Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer is a success. Hopefully when the trailer drops, this will become a list of all the things Marvel Studios got right…

The Setting

Fantastic Four: First Steps will be set in an alternate version of the 1960s-era MCU. That story choice frees First Steps from many of the usual burdens that come with telling stories within an interconnected franchise universe; however, it’s also a massive risk, if fans don’t buy into the new reality the film is introducing.

Director Matt Shakman managed to sell Marvel fans on multiple throwback eras of the MCU, aping every decade of sitcom television to create the various episodes of WandaVision. That said, Fantastic Four: First Steps won’t just be a retro-era story, it will be a story set in a very different version of Earth (think The Jetsons), which will need to be introduced and thoroughly explained to viewers. So far, promo and production materials for Fantastic Four: First Steps have teased some very promising-looking production designs, from the sets to the costumes, to the deep level of lore that already seems to be in place.

If nothing else, this first trailer needs to get established MCU fans thrilled about this new adventure, and casual viewers thrilled about journeying to a strange new world.

The Stars

Fantastic Four: First Steps stars the ensemble cast of Pedro Pascal (The Mandalorian, The Last of Us) as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible) as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) as Ben Grimm / Thing. Mainstream viewers are likely somewhat familiar with at least one of these actors from one of their previous roles, but that doesn’t mean that any of them are proven as big box office draws.

The first trailer for First Steps needs to sell people on the actual Fantastic Four, as their collective chemistry and banter will be the real thing that gives this fantastical concept (no pun) a beating heart.

How It Connects to the MCU

Yes, Fantastic Four: First Steps will be introducing viewers to an entirely different reality of the Marvel Cinematic Multiverse, where the Fantastic Four become the major heroes of their world. That’s going to be a novel adventure for MCU fans to go on, but that doesn’t mean moviegoers don’t want any clear connective threads to the larger franchise storyline.

Obviously that’s a tricky tightrope for Fantastic Four: First Steps to walk: the film’s role in the larger Marvel Multiverse Saga may not be revealed until the end of the movie – if not some post-credits scene. That makes it even trickier (but no less necessary) for this first Fantastic Four trailer to let viewers know this is a pivotal film in the MCU.

[RELATED: Marvel Studios Exec Addresses Black Panther Recasting Rumor]

BONUS: The Powers

Marvel never gives away the total package when it comes to revealing a superhero’s full costume and power set in a first trailer. So it’s fair to expect that Fantastic Four: First Steps won’t give away what the F4 squad looks like fully powered. But if we can get a tease of at least some of what Shakman and Marvel Studios have accomplished with the VFX, that would be icing on the cake.

Fantastic Four: First Steps will debut its first trailer on Tuesday, February 4th. The film is set to hit theaters on July 25th.

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Get ready for the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps with a new teaser. The first Fantastic Four movie from Marvel Studios is getting ready to drop a trailer Tuesday morning, and in preparation has given fans a sneak peek a day early. The movie stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / Thing. While they aren’t heavily featured in The Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser, it sets the stage for their origin story of how they obtain they’re fantastic powers.

“The Future Foundation invites you to take your first steps into a fantastic new era,” a post from the official Marvel account on X (formerly Twitter) reads. “Launch coverage begins at 7AM ET” with a link to the Marvel YouTube account to tune in.

[RELATED: How Marvel’s Fantastic Four Reboot Could Introduce a New Black Panther]

We have ABC to thank for originally unveiling when fans would get to a trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. A press release shared by ABC News on Friday stated that the long-awaited preview Fantastic Four will premiere on Good Morning America on Tuesday, February 4th. However, shortly after that press release was published, it was updated to remove any mention of the Fantastic Four trailer. It would seem that someone at Disney jumped the gun, but today’s announcement confirms the original press release was accurate.

Marvel fans will want to pay attention to Super Bowl Sunday, where the company has made a tradition to revealing trailer spots during the Big Game. Of course, last year’s Super Bowl delivered the first trailer for Deadpool & Wolverine, and previous Super Bowls have featured trailer for Avengers: Endgame, The Falcon and the Winter Solder, Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, and other Marvel projects. Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World, and Thunderbolts* all come out this year. A report indicates Disney has secured two Super Bowl spots for upcoming Marvel movies, so it’s likely we’ll get footage for two of the three.

Debuting the trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps on Good Morning America is also corporate synergy. GMA airs on ABC, which along with Marvel Studios, are under the Disney banner. Disney, just like every other company, likes to promote its products, so there’s no better place to get fans hyped for Fantastic Four than on Disney’s top morning news show.

Makes sure to check back to ComicBook tomorrow morning for the premiere of The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer.

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The first trailer for Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps will reportedly debut soon. A press release shared by ABC News today stated that the long-awaited preview will premiere on Good Morning America on Tuesday, February 4th. However, shortly after that press release was published, it was updated to remove any mention of the Fantastic Four trailer. This raises the question if the original information was incorrect, or if ABC jumped the gun and revealed the trailer premiere when they weren’t supposed to. You can see a screenshot of the original press release in the space below:

The release date for the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer has been subject to much speculation. Recent rumors suggested the preview would air during the Super Bowl LIX broadcast on Sunday, February 9th. It’s been reported that Disney has secured two Super Bowl spots for upcoming Marvel movies; in addition to Fantastic Four, Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts* will debut this year.

Set in a 1960s-inspired alternate reality separate from the Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Sacred Timeline, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is positioned as one of the most integral projects of the Multiverse Saga. Kicking off Phase Six, the film finally introduces the titular superhero team to the franchise, with Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach portraying Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm, respectively. It’s already been confirmed that the actors will reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.

[RELATED – 10 Fantastic Four Stories Perfect for MCU Fans]

Given the film’s significance, it’s understandable why Disney wants to make an event out of the trailer premiere. Debuting it on Good Morning America would be an interesting strategy; in addition to the corporate synergy of showing it on a Disney-owned program, The Fantastic Four: First Steps wouldn’t have to share the spotlight with any of 2025’s other highly anticipated tentpoles. If it airs on Good Morning America, it will have a five-day buffer from the Super Bowl, allowing it to be the main attraction for the better part of a week. While the allure of the Super Bowl’s sizable audience is appealing, Disney has other projects it can promote during the big game. There’s only so much money to go around for those expensive spots, so perhaps Disney sees this as a way to save some on marketing costs.

Whether the trailer releases on Good Morning America or during the Super Bowl, it will be vital that it makes a positive first impression. The Fantastic Four have not had much luck with big-screen adaptations, and Marvel needs to get audiences onboard right away to build hype for the remainder of the Multiverse Saga. Between its unique aesthetic and great cast, The Fantastic Four: First Steps boasts the necessary ingredients for an entertaining and captivating trailer that serves as a great introduction to the characters. It’ll be great to finally get a taste of what Marvel’s First Family will be like in the MCU.

The post The Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Reportedly Gets a Release Date (And It’s Soon) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

64 years after the Fantastic Four ushered in the modern Marvel Age of Comics, Marvel’s First Family is joining the Marvel Cinematic Universe with much fanfare. Ahead of Marvel Studios’ first Fantastic Four movie — which stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/the Thing — Marvel is celebrating The Fantastic Four: First Steps with Fantastic Four Fanfare, a new series featuring timeless tales from across the Fab Four’s history.

The four-issue series tells “new stories that capture the spirit and heart of the super hero team that started it all,” per Marvel Comics. “Each issue will spotlight a different member of the team in spectacular tales that are perfect for longtime fans and new readers alike.”

RELATED: Four No More: Marvel Renames the Fantastic Four in One World Under Doom

Fanfare‘s roster of past and present Fantastic Four creators includes writers Jonathan Hickman (FF), Mark Waid (of the Waid-Mike Wieringo run that published the milestone Fantastic Four #500), Dan Slott (Fantastic Four Vol. 6), Alan Davis (Fantastic Four: The End), J. Michael Straczynski (Fantastic Four #527-541), Chip Zdarsky (Marvel 2-in-One), Mike Allred (FF, Silver Surfer), and artists Mark Bagley (Fantastic Four Vol. 3 and 4), Ramon Rosanas (Ant-Man), and Sara Pichelli (Ultimate Spider-Man).

On sale May 7 with a cover by Matteo Scalera, Fantastic Four Fanfare #1 features the following stories:

• Mark Waid and Ramon Rosanas depict an escalating prank war between the Human Torch and the Thing!
• Alan Davis sends the team into hazards deep underground!
• Andrew Wheeler and Sara Pichelli reveal what happens when the Mole Man interrupts Johnny Storm’s star-making turn on reality television!

In addition to the ongoing Fantastic Four comic run by Ryan North, the Four will play a major role in One World Under Doom, Marvel’s mega event that launches with the North-penned core title on Feb. 12. Marvel Comics is also issuing a facsimile edition reprint of 1961’s The Fantastic Four #1 and the first 12 issues of Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s book that introduced Doctor Doom, Puppet Master, the Baxter Building, the Fantasti-Car, and featured the Four’s first encounters with the Incredible Hulk and Namor the Sub-Mariner.

Following the release of the Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 5 in November, more classic issues of the World’s Greatest Comic Magazine are headed back to print in the Fantastic Four Omnibus Vol. 6 (out in June) while the Ultimate Fantastic Four Omnibus (March 18) collects the first 32 issues of the modern reimagining by Brian Michael Bendis (Ultimate Spider-Man), Mark Millar (The Ultimates), Warren Ellis (Ultimate Galactus Trilogy), and artists Adam Kubert (Wolverine), Stuart Immonen (Ultimate Spider-Man), and Greg Land (Uncanny X-Men).

RELATED: Marvel Is Reprinting These Classic Fantastic 4 Comics in 2025 — Do They Hint at The Fantastic Four: First Steps Plot?

Also new for 2025 is the Fantastic Four by Waid & Wieringo: Imaginauts trade paperback, compiling issues of Fantastic Four (1998) #60-66, Fantastic Four by Chip Zdarsky: Fate of the Four TPB (2017’s Marvel 2-in-One #1-12), and Doctor Doom: Books of Doom (issues #1-6) and Doctor Doom by Cantwell & Larocca (2019’s Doctor Doom #1-10, War of the Realms: War Scrolls #3, and King in Black: Iron Man/Doctor Doom #1).

Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot, directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), is “set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world,” per the synopsis, and sees Mister Fantastic, the Invisible Woman, the Human Torch, and the Thing “face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters July 25.

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Cosmic Marvel – an X account that posts content related to Marvel, Star Wars, Pixar, and Disney – recently tweeted about a rumor suggesting that the first trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released during Super Bowl LIX, which takes place on Sunday, February 9th. However, that rumor may have been debunked by someone who would know when the actual trailer is set to be released: Asad Ayaz, the chief brand officer of The Walt Disney Company and president of marketing at the Walt Disney Studios and Disney+. The executive responded to Cosmic Marvel’s tweet with a simple “What?”, thereby pouring water on the idea that audiences will be treated to the trailer during the biggest sporting event of the year.

Or maybe there’s something more to Ayaz’s response. You see, back in 2021, someone posted on X (then Twitter) that the trailer for Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness would be released as the second post-credits scene for Spider-Man: No Way Home, to which Ayaz also responded with a simple “what.” However, that rumor ended up being true. So, is Ayaz being serious or is he giving fans a little hint?

Of note, Marvel Studios releasing the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer during the upcoming Super Bowl would make sense. The studio has previously released trailers for such films as Captain America: Civil War, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2, and Deadpool & Wolverine in previous Super Bowls. Furthermore, Captain America: Brave New World hits theaters later that same week, so Marvel Studios may want to capitalize on the extra marketing push.

Anticipation is high for the upcoming MCU film, as fans are eagerly waiting to see how Marvel Studios handles the Fantastic Four and how it will integrate the team into the wider cinematic universe. Previous big-screen adaptations of the characters — the cheesy 2005 and 2007 outings directed by Tim Story and 2015’s unusually dark take on Marvel’s First Family from Josh Trank — have been largely met with a tepid response.

[RELATED: 10 Fantastic Four Stories Perfect for MCU Fans]

Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios and chief creative officer of Marvel Entertainment, is aware of the stakes and is on a mission to deliver a Fantastic Four film that differentiates itself from past iterations of the characters. Feige previously explained Marvel’s approach, saying, “A lot of people know this origin story. A lot of people know the basics. How do we take that and bring something that they’ve never seen before? We’ve set a very high bar for ourselves with bringing that to the screen.”

Little is known about the plot of Fantastic Four: First Steps other than that it takes place in an alternate universe in the early 1960s. The cast includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. Other actors joining in the fun include Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer.

Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on July 25, 2025.

The post Fantastic Four: First Steps Trailer Rumor Earns Response From Disney Exec (When Will We See It?) appeared first on ComicBook.com.

Nearly 20 years after Weta Digital replaced actor Doug Jones with a CG-animated Silver Surfer in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Marvel Studios is using motion capture to transform actress Julia Garner into the Sentinel of the Spaceways. The Ozark Emmy winner and Wolf Man star is playing the Shalla-Bal version of the character in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is also using the technology — used in everything from Gollum in The Lord of the Rings to the Na’Vi in Avatar to the Hulk in The Avengers — for co-star Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s own rocky transformation into the Thing.

Opening up about her closely-guarded Marvel role in an interview with the fashion and lifestyle publication Who What Wear, Garner confirmed that the Silver Surfer will be a motion-capture creation (rather than just CGI).

RELATED: MCU Schedule: Every Marvel Studios Movie and TV Show Release Date in 2025 and Beyond

“You have to imagine everything when you’re doing it, as if you’re auditioning,” she said. “Even though we had the sets, I didn’t have my costume or hair and makeup or anything.”

Performance capture, like superhero fare, is new territory for Garner. The actress is known for her roes in dramas like The Americans and The Assistant, and will next be playing the spacefaring herald of the planet-devouring Galactus (Ralph Ineson).

“Going into the Marvel space was a big interest,” she said. “I feel like what a lot of actors don’t value enough is trying to reach every kind of audience. I think that’s really important. I’d be crazy to expect that everybody is going to watch Inventing Anna or Ozark or The Assistant. But to reach all kinds of people and build fans from everywhere? I was really excited to step into that universe.”

Garner’s gender-swapped Silver Surfer is a departure from the character who debuted in 1965’s Fantastic Four #48: Norrin Radd, who volunteered to serve Galactus as his herald to spare his homeworld Zenn-La — and Shalla-Bal, the woman he loves — from Galactus’ hunger. (An alternate-universe female Silver Surfer appeared in the Earth X series.)

“With the Silver Surfer, there’s still something very mysterious about it,” Garner said. “That mystery is very important to me as an actor. It’s such an iconic character, and it felt very different for me. I’ve never played a character like that.”

Marvel’s Fantastic Four reboot, directed by Matt Shakman (WandaVision), is “set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world,” per the synopsis, and introduces Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they “face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters July 25.

The post The Fantastic Four: First Steps Star Confirms Marvel Character Is 100% Motion Capture appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The Fantastic Four are one of Marvel’s most venerable teams. They kicked off what has been called the “Marvel Age of Comics,” when Stan Lee and Jack Kirby changed superheroes forever. For years, Fantastic Four was called “The World’s Greatest Comic Magazine,” but the team’s success outside of the comics has been lesser than many of Marvel’s other franchises. There’s a few animated series, two movies from the ’00s, and one major flop, Fant4stic.

The FF are getting their chance in the Marvel Cinematic Universe with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie releases July 25th and many MCU fans want to know more about the FF. Well, they need to look no further. These ten stories will give them a primer on the best FF stories, ones that will better acquaint MCU fans with Marvel’s First Family.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #1

For MCU fans, it’s not always good to start at the beginning. Oftentimes, characters have changed a lot since their first appearance. Not only that, but comics have also changed a lot since then, and older books may not appeal to modern readers. However, for the Fantastic Four, the best place to start actually is the beginning. Stan Lee and Jack Kirby’s vision for the series is on display immediately in Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #1, which tells the story of how Marvel’s First Family gained their powers and then pits them against the Mole Man.

Lee and Kirby hook readers immediately with this classic. Its Cold War setting shows off the creators’ beliefs in American exceptionalism, but it still does a tremendous job of showing the direction this team is going to take as the years go on. This issue sets the standard for every FF story that has come after it. With the rumor the Fantastic Four: First Steps is going to take place in the past, this is the best place for MCU fans to start.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #5

Doctor Doom is going to play a massive role in the MCU in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars, and the best place to start with the character for MCU fans is Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #5, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. This issue sees Doom attack the FF for the first time, using his time machine to send the team back in time to the age of pirates. On this jaunt, the Thing becomes the basis of the legend of Blackbeard before the team returns to the present and defeats Doom.

Lee and Kirby created one of comics’ greatest villains in this story and began a rivalry that would define the Marvel Universe. This comic harnesses the energy of two comic greats and is the definition of fun superhero action. Lee’s dialogue can be a little much, but it perfectly illustrates who each character is. Kirby’s art is amazing as always, jumping off the page at the readers. This is classic Marvel and MCU fans will find the kernels that grew into the universe they loved here.

“The Galactus Trilogy”

Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ villain is Galactus, so the best place to start for MCU fans may be the first Galactus story. Running through Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #48-50, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, it’s gone down in history as “The Galactus Trilogy.” This story sees the Watcher, familiar to MCU fans, warn the Fantastic Four about the coming of Galactus and his powerful herald Silver Surfer. The team is nearly helpless against the all-powerful cosmic power of Galactus, with the Earth seemingly doomed.

The Galactus Trilogy is exactly the kind of cosmic spectacle that inspired the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Lee and Kirby are on fire here, presenting a story that dips into cosmic horror as Galactus is, after all, an unfeeling force of destruction, not caring about the lives on the planets he devours. Lee gets to write one of his favorite characters, Silver Surfer, and Kirby’s art is as bombastic as ever. This is one of the greatest comic stories ever, and perfect for MCU fans who want to see Galactus before his MCU debut.

“The Man, This Monster”

The tragedy of the Thing is one of the most important parts of the Fantastic Four mythos. While the other three members of the team got great powers and could bask in the glow of celebrity as scientists who saved the world, Ben Grimm was transformed into a monster. Mister Fantastic did everything he could to cure his old friend but always failed. Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #51, by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby, titled “This Man, This Monster,” puts the Thing on full display, when an evil scientist takes his power and pretends to be the Thing in order to destroy the Fantastic Four, forcing Ben to save the day and eventually transform back into the monster he hates being.

Lee had quite a grip on the pathos of Ben Grimm, and this issue puts it on display perfectly. This issue has gone down as one of the best Fantastic Four comics ever. It’s full of drama and pathos, rendered beautifully by Kirby. It cuts to the soul of the Thing and shows the powers of the bonds between the FF. This is the one issue that will help MCU fans truly understand the Thing and how far he will go to save the day, making it a must-read.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #242-244

While the first Galactus story is generally considered the best, there’s another one that many fans love. Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #242-244, by John Byrne, brought Galactus and his new herald Terrax to Earth. Galactus was at his lowest, not fed in ages, and the FF teamed with the heroes of New York City to stop the World Devourer. After they defeat Galactus, though, instead of destroying him, the FF comes up with another solution that leads the cosmic god to get another herald and leave the Earth.

John Byrne is probably the greatest comic creator to work on Fantastic Four after Lee and Kirby. His run on the book has gone down as one of the best comic runs of all time and is full of brilliant stories (several of which are on this list). This Galactus story is unlike any other MCU fans could experience, and it shows that the FF aren’t typical superheroes either, with the surprising ending of this story reveals exactly what kind of heroes the FF are and has repercussions down the road for the FF. More on that later.

[RELATED: Marvel Is Reprinting These Classic Fantastic 4 Comics — Do They Hint at The Fantastic Four: First Steps Plot?]

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #258

Doctor Doom is an amazing character readers have learned to love over the decades. A big reason for that is how well the character has been fleshed out, and one of the best examples of this comes in Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #258, by John Byrne. This comic showed readers a day in the life of Doctor Doom, telling the story from his perspective. Comics about villains were rare in the early ’80s, and this comic does an amazing job of showing why Doom is one of the greatest villains of all time. The issue’s most well-known sequence sees Doom’s young ward Kristoff asking a question that sees the monarch show his petty true colors.

Doctor Doom is a complicated character, and this comic shows that. Byrne is on fire in this issue, and this book is often considered one of the greatest Doctor Doom comics of all time. If MCU fans want more Doom, then this issue is perfect for them. It captures all sides of the character, and it’s one that MCU fans should read to better understand the villain.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #262

The Fantastic Four saved Galactus when he was at his lowest ebb, something that showed the core of goodness that defines the FF. However, saving him would allow him to continue committing genocide on a massive scale, something which the rest of the universe wasn’t exactly happy about. This caused them to arrest Mister Fantastic leading to the trial of Reed Richards in Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #262. Richards has his defenders and detractors alike, including his family, the Watcher himself, and many survivors of Galactus. However, a most surprising being comes to the trial, one who is there to speak for Richards — and is also the last person most of the jury wants to listen to.

MCU fans have barely gotten a taste of how big the Marvel Universe truly is, which makes this comic perfect for them. It shows some of the greatest alien races in the Marvel Universe and goes into the terror that Galactus has caused over the years. This is truly epic cosmic Marvel and is perfect for MCU fans who want to see the grandeur of a great FF story.

Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #268

The Fantastic Four are first and foremost a family. Reed is married to Sue, Sue’s brother is the Human Torch, and the Thing has been like a brother to Reed since the moment they met. Reed and Sue even had a child by the 1980s, Franklin. Sue later finds herself pregnant again, but problems with the radiation in her system lead Reed to a villain in Fantastic Four (Vol. 1) #268, by John Byrne. Reed asks Spider-Man villain Doctor Octopus for help. Doc Ock agrees and the two race to the hospital. However, when Ock’s arms break out of a secure facility and look for their master, things are about to get tragic.

This issue is completely heartbreaking and shows the problems with being a superhero with a family in the Marvel Universe. Byrne does an amazing job of this issue, balancing drama and action beautifully, playing with the reader’s expectations and giving them a suspenseful journey. It’s a brilliant use of the comic storytelling medium, and it’s something that MCU fans need to experience.

“Unthinkable”

Doctor Doom can be a noble monarch, and for this reason, many readers forget that he is also a monster. Doom has done heroic things over the years, but he’s also done terrible things. Nowhere is this more on display than the story “Unthinkable,“ by Mark Waid and the late great Mike Wieringo. This story sees Doom embrace the occult like never before to finally destroy his hated enemies in the Fantastic Four. However, to get the power he needs to destroy his enemies, he has to make a terrible sacrifice that will change the way readers look at him forever.

Robert Downey Jr. playing Doctor Doom is going to make it hard for many MCU fans to hate him. RDJ is Iron Man, after all, and these fans have been conditioned to love him. This is why they need to read “Unthinkable.” It shows just how far Doom’s hatred will make him go, containing his most ghastly act. This story shows Doom is the ultimate villain — a man who can make everyone think that he’s not that bad but is capable of acts that would freeze the blood of any person who witnesses them.

Secret Wars (2015)

Secret Wars (2015), by Jonathan Hickman and Esad Ribic, isn’t technically an FF story. It’s an event that shook the Marvel Multiverse, pulling in characters from many Earths. However, at its core, Secret Wars is all about the FF. The story’s main character is Doctor Doom, and the members of the FF play massive roles. Secret Wars is about the end of the Multiverse and what comes next, with Doom standing tall as the savior of all. However, even when doing something altruistic, Doom is still evil, and a group of survivors of the old multiverse — led by two different versions of Reed Richards — decide to overthrow God Emperor Doom and try to rebuild creation as it should be.

Doom’s hatred of the Fantastic Four, and his grudge against Reed Richards, are central to this story, making it an FF story at its core. The MCU is likely going to take a lot from this tale in the years to come, and in many ways, it’s the ultimate Fantastic Four story, which should put it on every MCU fan’s list.

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Marvel Studios may have just cracked the code on one of its trickiest casting puzzles – and it comes from an unexpected place: The Fantastic Four: First Steps. With Marvel’s First Family hitting screens in July 2025 with a cool retro-futuristic 1960s vibe, this throwback adventure might be the perfect way to bring T’Challa back to the MCU. The timing couldn’t be better, with buzz building about Marvel looking to recast the beloved character for future films, possibly through the Multiverse. And here’s the kicker – the film’s setting just happens to line up perfectly with Black Panther’s original comic debut in Fantastic Four #52 back in 1966.

Let’s talk history for a second. Black Panther and the Fantastic Four go way back. T’Challa actually made his first appearance in the pages of Fantastic Four, where comic legends Stan Lee and Jack Kirby introduced him as a mysterious African ruler who decided to test his skills against Marvel’s top team. This was huge – especially considering it happened in the middle of the Civil Rights Movement. From the start, T’Challa proved he meant business by taking down the whole team single-handedly.

The new Fantastic Four movie looks like it’s giving a respectful nod to these roots. According to the official synopsis, we’re getting a story set in “a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world” that exists outside the main MCU timeline. This clever setup could let Marvel bring in a new version of T’Challa without stepping on the toes of Chadwick Boseman’s incredible legacy or messing with what happened in Black Panther: Wakanda Forever.

Rumor has it that Marvel’s seriously thinking about recasting T’Challa. Industry insider Jeff Sneider dropped the news that Marvel already tried to get someone for the role last fall, but the actor passed. As you might expect, fans are split on this one – some think it’s too soon after Wakanda Forever‘s beautiful tribute to Boseman, while others feel it’s time for T’Challa’s story to continue.

Here’s where First Steps’ Multiverse angle could save the day. Sneider mentions that Marvel’s pretty open to bringing back T’Challa through the Multiverse, kind of like how they’re bringing Robert Downey Jr. back as Doctor Doom for those upcoming Avengers films. It’s a smart play – they can honor what Boseman did while still exploring new takes on the character.

[RELATED – Marvel Is Reprinting These Classic Fantastic 4 Comics — Do They Hint at The Fantastic Four: First Steps Plot?]

The timing here is perfect when you look at the comics. T’Challa’s original debut showed him putting the Fantastic Four through their paces using Wakanda’s sophisticated tech while dealing with big questions about whether the country should stay hidden or engage with the outside world. First Steps could recreate this classic moment while exploring what Wakanda was like in its alternate 1960s setting.

Plus, with the movie dealing with heavy hitters like Galactus and cosmic threats, it makes sense to bring in Wakanda’s amazing technology. The retro-futuristic vibe is ideal for showing off Wakanda’s hidden advanced society and diving into why they chose to stay isolated during such a crucial time in history.

Of course, bringing back T’Challa needs to be handled with care. Any new version would have to be its own thing while still respecting what came before. Setting it in the ’60s could help with this – we could see a younger, maybe more cautious T’Challa who learns to open up through his run-in with the Fantastic Four.

This could set up some really cool stuff down the line. Marvel’s got two big Avengers movies coming up – Doomsday and Secret Wars – and having a Multiverse version of T’Challa already established would fit right in. With Ryan Coogler still working on Black Panther 3, there’s potential for this ’60s T’Challa to cross paths with our modern MCU heroes through some Multiverse shenanigans.

Bringing T’Challa back through the Fantastic Four is smart for another reason. In the original comics, he proved how formidable he was by taking down Marvel’s biggest superhero team. Recreating that moment in the movie would be a great way to establish a new actor in the role while tipping the hat to that historic first appearance.

There’s no getting around the fact that this decision might ruffle some feathers. But by setting it in an alternate timeline, Marvel could give themselves enough breathing room to make it work. They could keep Boseman’s version sacred in the main timeline while still letting T’Challa’s character live on in the bigger Multiverse picture.

The July 2025 release could end up being perfect timing as well. It could bridge the gap between different MCU phases and set up T’Challa’s role in the upcoming Avengers films. Marvel’s clearly betting big on the Fantastic Four, and their connection to Black Panther might be key to where the MCU goes next.

First Steps might be exactly what Marvel needs to bring back one of their most important characters while showing respect to both the comics and what came before in the movies. We’ll have to wait and see if they actually go this route, but you’ve got to admit – they’ve laid the groundwork pretty nicely for making it happen.

The post How Marvel’s Fantastic Four Reboot Could Introduce a New Black Panther appeared first on ComicBook.com.

The MCU’s new Ben Grimm got help from one of the industry’s best when preparing for the role — The Lord of the Rings’ Andy Serkis. Serkis became a pioneer in the art of motion-capture acting by playing Gollum, and he continues to work on the process to this day. In an interview on Jimmy Kimmel Live on Tuesday, Moss-Bachrach explained how Serkis helped him become The Thing for Fantastic Four: First Steps, even if he couldn’t see the animation while filming.

“Andy Serkis, who is sort of the Godfather of motion-capture in a way — he’s got this company called The Imaginarium, which is at Pinewood Studio where we shot Fantastic Four,” Moss-Bachrach said. “He was very generous. They have a room that they call the ‘magic mirror’ where you put on the motion capture suit, and you put on sensors, and they set up monitors, and you can see in real time a rendering — kind of a beta rendering, not fully realized, and you can’t see the face too much — but you could see the physics. How big the character is.”

Motion-capture was a relatively new concept when Serkis was cast as Gollum, and The Lord of the Rings trilogy was one of the most extensive uses of it in a popular film at that time. Its success helped spur other productions to use it as well, and many turned to Serkis for his expertise. Serkis would go on to play the part of King Kong in motion-capture, and Caesar in the Planet of the Apes trilogy from 2011 to 2017. He reprised his role as Gollum in The Hobbit trilogy, and played Supreme Leader Snoke in the Star Wars sequel trilogy.

[RELATED: Silver Surfer Actress Teases Expansive Universe for the MCU’s Fantastic Four]

Serkis co-founded The Imaginarium Studios in 2011, along with film producer Jonathan Cavendish. These days, Serkis is known as a director as much as an actor — he directed and starred in the 2018 adaptation Mowgli: Legend of the Jungle and directed Venom: Let There Be Carnage that same year. Last spring, Warner Bros. announced that Serkis will direct and star in The Lord of the Rings: The Hunt for Gollum — an interquel set during Fellowship of the Ring.

The strength of all this hybrid CGI work is behind Moss-Bachrach, which bodes well for Fantastic Four: First Steps. The movie is not expected to be an origin story for Marvel’s First Family, meaning Grimm will probably be in his stony form for the entire runtime. First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

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Julia Garner reveals what it’s like to portray Silver Surfer in the Marvel Cinematic Universe for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The first Fantastic Four movie under the Marvel Studios banner promises to reintroduce Marvel’s First Family in a whole new manner. Garner plays Shalla-Bal, the female Silver Surfer, whereas Doug Jones and Laurence Fishburne portrayed the Norrin Radd version in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Fans are excited to learn more about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and Garner is giving an inside look at what it’s like to step into such an expansive universe.

ComicBook spoke to Silver Surfer actress Julia Garner in support of her new movie Wolf Man. We asked Garner her thoughts about playing Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and if anything stood out or surprised her about prepping for the role. “I mean, just how big it is. It’s a big universe, and I feel so grateful I get to be a little part of it to be honest,” Garner told ComicBook. “Everybody on that job, I think the casting is phenomenal and they’re so wonder. And [director] Matt Shakman is amazing. I’m very excited.”

[RELATED: The Fantastic Four: First Steps Celebrates Christmas With Brand-New Poster]

The Emmy Award and Golden Globe winning actress was officially confirmed as Silver Surfer back in April following reports she was playing Shalla-Bal. Created by Stan Lee and John Buscema in 1968’s Silver Surfer #1, Shalla-Bal is initially established as the Empress of the planet Zenn-La, as well as the love interest of Norrin Radd / Silver Surfer. When Norrin was banished to Earth by Galactus, Shanna became a pawn in a conspiracy against him, briefly being brainwashed by Mephisto into believing she is a human woman from Latveria. Simultaneously, Galactus began to destroy the planet of Zenn-La, and Norrin gave Shalla part of the Power Cosmic by the end of the story so she could help restore it to its former glory. 

Julia Garner joins a cast that includes Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, with Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich in undisclosed roles.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25th.

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Marvel’s First Family is celebrating the holidays along with the rest of us this week. On Tuesday evening, the official Fantastic social media account shared a new poster for Fantastic Four: First Steps featuring the team’s logo on a Christmas ornament hanging from a pine branch. It read: “Happy holidays from our family to yours.”

The MCU debut of the Fantastic Four is scheduled for July 25, 2025, and Marvel has been building it up with holiday-themed promotions for nearly a year now. Fans have received old-fashioned cards from the Richards-Storm-Grimm family on Valentine’s Day, the Fourth of July, and now Christmas. Each one has a retro theme, and this may be the most nostalgic of all. It matches the 1960s inspired retro-futuristic aesthetic of the movie itself.

Sadly, this post didn’t give us any new information about the movie itself. On Valentine’s Day, we learned the main cast of the new movie — Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm. We also know that Ralph Ineson will play Galactus while Julia Garner will play his herald, the Silver Surfer. Other stars include Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles.

[RELATED: Marvel Is Reprinting These Classic Fantastic 4 Comics — Do They Hint at The Fantastic Four: First Steps Plot?]

First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman and produced by Marvel Studios mastermind Kevin Feige. It is executive produced by Lous D’Esposito, Grant Curtis and Tim Lewis. The movie filmed from July 30 of this year to the end of November, at various locations in England and Spain. So far, the holiday cards have held fans over while we wait for more news, but in 2025 we can finally expect to see some real footage.

First Steps will be a momentous occasion in the world of comic book movies — not only will it finally introduce the Fantastic Four to the MCU, it will kick off the franchise’s Phase Six. There are three MCU movies hitting theaters in 2025, but Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts will both be a part of Phase Five. First Steps is the first of five movies in Phase Six, which will close out the Multiverse Saga. That includes two new Avengers titles, a new Spider-Man movie that hasn’t been titled yet, and the MCU reboot of Blade.

Brave New World comes to theaters on February 14, 2025. followed by Thunderbolts on May 2, 2025. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.

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With 2024 winding down, the year’s big box office winners are clear. Inside Out 2, Deadpool & Wolverine, Wicked, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice, and It Ends With Us were just a few of the many movies that flourished over these 12 months of cinema history. Even with a pair of labor strikes from 2023 and other external factors inhibiting the amount of movies that hit theaters in 2024, the annual domestic box office is headed for a solid end-of-year total. Even better, 2025 is poised to be (knock on wood) the first post-March 2020 year at the domestic box office that resembles something like a pre-2020 “normal.”

With studios cramming the calendar with new titles and multiple fresh releases opening over the same weekend, 2025 is shaping up to be a mighty year at the box office. But what titles might make the most money? That’s what we’re gathered here today to explore. 2025 could be a year for the history books if things go right, and these projected biggest movies of 2025 will play a critical role in this year living up to expectations.

Avatar: Fire and Ash

In 2022, Avatar: The Way of Water returned audiences to Pandora after 13 years of the franchise being M.I.A. from theaters. Despite years of jokes about the original Avatar leaving “no pop culture impact,” The Way of Water grossed over $2 billion worldwide to become one of the biggest movies ever globally. It’s a foregone conclusion Avatar: Fire and Ash will be one of 2025’s most lucrative titles, especially since key foreign territories have more readily returned to moviegoing since December 2022. In other words, the box office run of Fire and Ash will have all the might of an Ikran, Eywa, and Payakan combined.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Ironically, the 2025 Marvel Studios property with the most box office potential is the one starring characters that have technically never appeared in this saga (at least this universe’s forms). The Fantastic Four: First Steps has several advantages at its back, including a late July release date that will allow it to run throughout August with minimal competition. That approach certainly worked for Deadpool & Wolverine and early August juggernaut Guardians of the Galaxy. Plus, if First Steps gets positive buzz, it could skyrocket at the box office, like the first solo Venom and Deadpool movies, over excitement surrounding seeing comic book characters finally “done right” on the big screen. Keep an eye on The Fantastic Four: First Steps to finally give Marvel’s First Family a box office sensation.

[RELATED: Is 2024 the Worst Year for Superhero Movies?]

Mission: Impossible – The Final Reckoning

Sure, Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning failed to hit lofty box office expectations. However, its domestic haul was still only 20% below its predecessor. With a more competition-free Memorial Day weekend (not to mention exclusive control over IMAX screens for three weeks), Mission: Impossible -The Final Reckoning has a good shot at restoring the saga’s box office prowess. If Reckoning comes anywhere close to being as big as the franchise’s most successful installments, then Ethan Hunt is going out in style.

Michael

If Elvis could reach $150+ million domestically, the mind staggers to think what a movie about Michael Jackson like Michael will do in October 2025. The King of Pop is coming to the big screen in what’s allegedly a flashy, crowd-pleasing fashion that’ll give audiences plenty of razzle-dazzle and reprises of their favorite songs. Jackson’s appeal as a musician was global. Michael is bound to similarly resonate globally, producing one of the year’s biggest hits in the process.

Zootopia 2

Moana 2 has officially brought Walt Disney Animation Studios back to the level of box office powerhouse. Next Thanksgiving, the label will try to keep the momentum going with another sequel, Zootopia 2. Though not as heavily streamed over the last eight years as Moana, Zootopia actually made more money than that musical back in 2016 with over $1 billion worldwide. This box office sensation returning with a new adventure is bound to excite audiences. Plus, since, unlike Moana 2, Zootopia 2 was always made with the big screen in mind, its long-term word-of-mouth could be exceedingly better than 2024’s big Disney Animation smash.

Wicked: Part 2

This one’s a no-brainer for being a 2025 box office smash. With Wicked on track to become only the second live-action musical in history to exceed $400 million domestically, audiences are clearly stoked to spend more time with Elphaba and Glinda. Wicked: Part 2 won’t have as many feel-good bubbly songs as “Dancing Through Life” and “Popular,” so it likely won’t inspire as many rewatches as its predecessors. However, it’s still guaranteed to be one of 2025’s largest hits, especially given the euphoric word-of-mouth greeting the first Wicked. Here is the rare “part one” movie that leaves audiences excited for a follow-up rather than feeling frustrated over getting only half a film.

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2025 is shaping to be an exciting year for superhero movie fans, with Marvel and DC set to release highly anticipated films. Thanks to Superman, DC Studios will finally bring their new cinematic universe into theaters, kicking off what we all hope will be a decade of good DC movies. Marvel Studios is also cranking things up by offering the most projects in a single year ever — all to restructure and prepare for the next Avengers movies. It has been a while since Marvel and DC brought out the big theatrical guns at the same time. The winner of this clash is obviously the fans, who get to enjoy movies featuring iconic characters from both classic comic book editors.

Captain America: Brave New World

Director: Julius Onah
Writers: Malcolm Spellman, Dalan Musson
Release Date: February 14, 2025 

Sam Wilson’s (Anthony Mackie) journey as Captain America takes the silver screen with Brave New World, a politically charged thriller that promises to bring the franchise back to its Winter Soldier’s peak. The story centers on Wilson navigating a complex web of international conspiracies while dealing with President Thaddeus “Thunderbolt” Ross’s ambitious plans to militarize the Captain America position and establish a new Avengers team. The film introduces adamantium to the MCU and features a star-studded cast, including Harrison Ford as President Ross, who undergoes a dramatic transformation into the Red Hulk. Adding to the tension are villains The Leader and Sidewinder, played by Tim Blake Nelson and Giancarlo Esposito, respectively. The movie also explores themes of legacy and racial inequality that were established in The Falcon and the Winter Soldier, as Sam works closely with Isaiah Bradley (Carl Lumbly) while training the new Falcon, Joaquin Torres (Danny Ramirez).

Thunderbolts*

Director: Jake Schreier
Writer: Eric Pearson
Release Date: May 2, 2025 

Thunderbolts* is an unconventional team-up film that brings together Marvel’s most complex antiheroes under the leadership of Bucky Barnes, whose role has been compared to Jack Nicholson’s character in One Flew Over the Cuckoo’s Nest. The ensemble includes Florence Pugh’s sharp-witted Yelena Belova, David Harbour’s Red Guardian, Hannah John-Kamen’s newly-controlled Ghost, and Wyatt Russell’s complicated U.S. Agent. Julia Louis-Dreyfus’s Valentina Allegra de Fontaine, now the CIA director, assembles the team with her own agenda for power and control. Recent footage suggests that Bucky joins the team after they’ve already formed, hunting them down for mysterious reasons. Newcomers Geraldine Viswanathan and Lewis Pullman join the fray, with Pullman rumored to bring the powerful Sentry to life. The story explores themes of redemption and unlikely alliances as these former adversaries must work together under increasingly dangerous circumstances.

[RELATED: James Gunn Reveals Key Difference Between DC Universe and Marvel Studios’ MCU]

Superman

Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Release Date: July 11, 2025 

James Gunn’s fresh take on the Man of Steel promises to deliver a Superman story unlike any we’ve seen before. David Corenswet steps into the iconic role alongside Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, with the film exploring Clark Kent’s journey to reconcile his Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing. While not an origin story, the film focuses on Superman as a young reporter navigating his relationships with key characters in Metropolis. Gunn has emphasized that this version of Superman will be driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind. The director has also teased that the film will showcase previously unseen aspects of Superman’s life and incorporate significant elements from Silver Age comics, promising to deliver epic action sequences while maintaining the character’s fundamental optimism.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Director: Matt Shakman
Writers: Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer
Release Date: July 25, 2025 

Marvel’s First Family finally makes their MCU debut in a unique period piece set against the backdrop of the 1960s Space Race. Pedro Pascal leads the cast as Reed Richards, alongside Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. The film blends family drama with cosmic stakes as the team faces off against the planet-devouring Galactus, voiced by Ralph Ineson, and his herald, the Silver Surfer, played by Julia Garner. The retro-futuristic setting provides a fresh take on the team’s origin, while the story promises to explore how these four individuals balance their newfound powers with their strong family bonds. With Avengers: Doomsday closing in, First Steps is also expected to explain how Robert Downey Jr. will take on the mantle of Doctor Doom, the archnemesis of the Fantastic Four.

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