When Disney purchased 20th Century Fox, lo those many years ago, that immediately meant all the X-Men characters could appear in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It also meant Fox’s other (and let’s face it, far less successful) Marvel property, the Fantastic Four, was joining the fray. However, aside from a Reed Richards cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, the Fantastic Four have been MIA. But, hope is on the horizon! The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be part of the MCU’s Phase Six.
Marvel recently dropped a trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps and some new photos:
Here’s everything we know about the MCU’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie.
Title
All the initial branding from Marvel indicated the movie’s title would be Fantastic Four. Now, we know that the MCU’s Fantastic Four movie will be called The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Plot
The film takes place in a retro-futuristic 1960s NYC, which we see in this trailer.
Here’s the official synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps:
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.
Behind the Scenes
In August 2022, Marvel named Matt Shakman—who had directed WandaVision for Disney+—as the film’s director. Feige confirmed this at the D23 Expo in September of that same year.
Later in September, Marvel said Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were writing the script for The Fantastic Four. By March 2023, Terminator franchise and Avatar: The Way of Water screenwriter Josh Friedman was at work rewriting the script. In October 2023, Cameron Squires’ name was added as co-writer.
Speaking to The Official Marvel podcast, Kevin Feige confirmed exactly when The Fantastic Four: First Steps movie would begin to film. He revealed, “We start shooting at the end of July… The day after [San Diego] Comic-Con is the first day of filming on Fantastic Four.” That means The Fantastic Four: First Steps begins filming on in late July. He also confirmed that the movie would be a period piece set in the 1960s.
Feige mentioned during a panel at Disney APAC Content Showcase that filming would wrap in late November.
The fantastic quartet—Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach—are already hanging out for their “first mission.” Pascal shared the candid photo of the cast on his IG page.
As Deadline reports, during the Disney APAC Content Showcase in Singapore, Marvel boss Kevin Feige made a virtual appearance to talk about the MCU and bringing this collective to the big screen.
“Finally, [we’re] bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU,” said Feige. “They wrap next week, the movie comes out next summer, and then all those characters go right into the next Avengers movies, so I’m very excited for the future of the Fantastic Four.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Cast
The MCU’s Fantastic Four team has officially set its cast. Pedro Pascal will play Reed Richards, a.k.a. Mister Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby will play Sue Storm, a.k.a. the Invisible Woman. Ebon Moss-Bachrach will play The Thing. Finally, Joseph Quinn will play Johnny Storm, a.k.a. the Human Torch.
Julia Garner (Ozark, Inventing Anna) will play the Shalla-Bal version of Silver Surfer. In the comics, Shalla-Bal appeared as Norrin Radd’s partner, but at one point, she received the same powers as the Silver Surfer and they were both Galactus’ heralds.
Paul Walter Hauser has also joined the cast, as have John Malkovich and Natasha Lyonne. We don’t know who these actors are playing. We do know Ralph Ineson will be playing Galactus.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Release Date
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will release on July 25, 2025.
Originally published on December 22, 2023.