Marvel’s first family will make their MCU debut soon with a brand new Fantastic Four movie, First Steps, taking the explorers back to their retro roots.
A major announcement at San Diego Comic-Con 2019 was the news the superhero team the Fantastic Four would finally be in upcoming Marvel movies.
Not only are the Fantastic Four starring in their MCU project, but they’re also featuring in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
There’s a lot to unpack in this new movie, so let’s dive into the Fantastic Four in Marvel’s Phase 6.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps release date
The Fantastic Four will be released on July 25, 2025.
At San Diego Comic-Con 2022, Kevin Feige announced that Fantastic Four would kick off Phase 6 of the MCU in November 2024. However, with shake-ups in the release dates of films like Blade, Deadpool 3, and Avengers: Secret Wars, things got mixed up and delayed.
In 2024, Feige confirmed on the Marvel Podcast that filming would begin on Monday, July 27, 2024.
Cast list
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn lead The Fantastic Four cast, as Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm.
Marvel confirmed the cast on Valentine’s Day, February 14, 2024. A retro illustration accompanied the news, showing the characters in some vintage super-suits.
Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family! Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn are The Fantastic Four.
Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour, in theaters July 25, 2025. pic.twitter.com/dOmLG0m7ie
— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 14, 2024
Ozark’s Julia Garner is playing the Silver Surfer. Black Bird actor Paul Walter Hauser has also joined in an undisclosed role.
A later announcement on May 9 revealed John Malkovich would join the cast. Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne was then announced on May 15.
In huge news, we know who will play the supervillain Galactus now: Ralph Ineson will be the planet-eating cosmic tyrant.
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/The Human Torch
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing
- Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer
- Paul Walter Hauser in an undisclosed role
- John Malkovich in an undisclosed role
- Natasha Lyonne in an undisclosed role
- Ralph Ineson as Galactus
The core quartet shared a selfie as a group for the first time on July 25, 2024, one year ahead of the film’s planned release date (see below). Sadly, they’re not wearing their costumes, but it’s still nice to see them all smiling together.
What happened to all the cast rumors?
Plenty of actors were rumored to be in line for this project over the years, most notably, John Krasinski as Reed Richards.
Although John Krasinski portrayed Universe-838 Reed Richards in the 2022 film Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, it was implied early in development of The Fantastic Four that Krasinski would not be returning.
In a December 2023 interview with The Wrap, Krasinski officially closed the door on that possibility, saying, “Being turned into spaghetti wasn’t my end goal in life as far as how it goes in the Marvel universe, but you know what, it was fun nonetheless.”
As for Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, actress Vanessa Kirby (Hobbes & Shaw) was long considered the favorite to play the character. Kirby eventually addressed the rumors, saying cryptically that it would be an “honor” to join the cast.
Actresses like Amanda Seyfried (The Dropout), Natalia Dyer (Stranger Things), Melissa Benoist (Supergirl), Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World), Emily Blunt (A Quiet Place), Kristen Bell (The Good Place), and Mila Kunis (Family Guy) were all also rumored as possible choices for Sue Storm.
Insider DanielRPK at one point suggested that Margot Robbie (Suicide Squad) was offered the role of Sue Storm. It’s unclear if Robbie backed out or if the scoop was incorrect.
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Chris Evans, who played Captain America in Universe-616, said that he would be open to returning to the role of Johnny Storm he played back in 2005. Of course, Evans returned as Storm in Deadpool & Wolverine, so that’s probably it for his time as the character.
In addition, Joe Keery (Stranger Things), Logan Lerman (The Perks of Being a Wallflower), and Chase Stokes (The Boys) had been suggested as options for the role. Insider DanielRPK also leaked that Irish actor Paul Mescal had been offered the role of Johnny Storm.
There were quite a few rumors about the role of Ben Grimm, with Seth Rogen (Knocked Up) long considered the favorite for the part. Hamilton’s Daveed Diggs was also rumored to have been offered the part.
What’s the First Steps plot?
The only thing we know for certain about The Fantastic Four’s plot is that it’ll be a period piece, likely starting in the 1960s.
Given that Marvel has strayed away from known origin stories (as they did with Spider-Man), it’s possible that the MCU installment won’t include a detailed account of their transformation and powers.
Ant-Man director Peyton Reed previously revealed that he had pitched an MCU Fantastic Four movie that would have taken place in the 1960s, the era when the heroes were first introduced in the comics. Now, it seems that will come to fruition under director Matt Shakman.
With the iconic Fantastic Four villain, Galactus, involved, the possibilities are endless. If you ask us, the film will take place on an alternate Earth in the ’60s, where the family has to take on Galactus to protect their timeline. They may even get some help from a version of Doctor Doom, but we’ll see.
Director & crew
Matt Shakman will direct The Fantastic Four. He’s best known for helming WandaVision, which kicked off the MCU’s Disney+ programming.
Spider-Man director Jon Watts was initially directing. However, in April 2022, Watts stepped down from the project, saying he wanted to take a break from superhero movies.
It has since been reported that Eric Pearson has been brought in to polish the script. Pearson, who worked on Thor: Ragnarok and Black Widow, is best known for “taking projects over the finish line,” per The Hollywood Reporter.
Acclaimed composer, Michael Giacchino, is scoring the movie and his sound was teased by Marvel at D23 2024.
Fantastic Four 2024 Comic-Con news
At SDCC 2024, the Fantastic Four had a panel in Hall H, which unveiled the Fantasticar and a sneak peek of test footage for the new movie.
THE FANTASTICAR. #SDCC pic.twitter.com/9wgQbQyPvb
— Jenna Anderson @ D23 (@heyitsjennalynn) July 28, 2024
The main four cast members attended, as well as Shakman. During the panel, there were several announcements. Among them, it was revealed that Michael Giacchino (The Incredibles, The Batman) would compose the score.
The Fantasticar was also at SDCC 2024. It flew over Hall H and to the cast to take them to London for filming. The audience was also treated to a special look at the test footage, which has since leaked online.
In the footage, Pascal’s Reed is giving a science presentation to some students, complete with an old-timey voice. There’s also a brief glimpse of The Thing, who appears as a contestant on a dating show. Galactus’ big head is seen at the end, peaking in through a skyscraper window.
It’s safe to say they’ve got the ’60s aesthetic down.
Is there a Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer?
There isn’t a trailer for the Fantastic Four movie right now. But, with footage being shown at SDCC, we can’t be far away from an official release.
That’s everything we know about First Steps for now. In the meantime, see what we know about upcoming Marvel projects like Spider-Man 4, Captain America 4, and Agatha.