The Fantastic Four: First Steps — release date, trailer, cast and everything we know about the Marvel movie
Minus a John Krasinski cameo as Reed Richards in Doctor Strange and the Multiverse of Madness, the Fantastic Four is an iconic group of Marvel heroes that have been absent from the Marvel Cinematic Universe to date (the reason had to do with the characters being licensed to 20th Century Fox). But now the iconic team is set to get a proper introduction to the MCU with The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Of course, there have been some notable attempts to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen. Chris Evans made his superhero debut alongside Jessica Alba and others in the pair of Fantastic Four movies that were released in 2005 and 2007. Then there was a 2015 reboot that was mired in production issues that made for a less-than-fantastic last outing for the famous quartet.
Now a whole new cast of actors is taking on the roles of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm, and we've got everything you need to know about it right here.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps release date
Marvel is going to release The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25 exclusively in movie theaters worldwide.
After a slow 2024 in movie theaters, the MCU is coming back in a big way in 2025. Three new MCU movies are slated to premiere this year, starting with Captain America: Brave New World on February 14, then Thunderbolts on May 2 and finally The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast
The latest group of actors set to portray 'Marvel's First Family' of superheroes are Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible — Dead Reckoning) as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn (Gladiator 2) as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) as Ben Grimm, aka The Thing.
We also know that Emmy-winner Julia Garner (Ozark) is set to play the Silver Surfer, while Ralph Ineson (Nosferatu) has been tapped to play Galactus.
Additional members of the cast include Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face), Paul Walter Hauser (The Instigators), John Malkovich (Ripley) and Sarah Niles (Ted Lasso).
The Fantastic Four: First Steps plot
As Marvel usually does, they've been keeping the plot details for The Fantastic Four: First Steps pretty well hidden. But we do know a few things.
The movie is set in the 1960s, so taking place before most of the events of the MCU. (Could it also be taking place in a different universe than the main MCU storyline we've been following?) We also know that the main villain of the movie is Galactus, an iconic Marvel villain whose main thing is that he consumes planets. But we can expect the Fantastic Four to try and stop him.
Here is what Marvel has shared for The Fantastic Four: First Steps plot so far:
'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, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing as they face their most daunting challenge yet.'
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer
The first official trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now here, giving us our first look at the Silver Surfer and teasing the gigantic antagonist, Galactus. Give it a watch right here:
Check out other trailers for the Marvel movie right here:
A new look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps was also shared to announce that tickets for the movie are now available. Check it out here:
You can also check out these clips from the movie:
The Fantastic Four: First Steps director
Matt Shakman is the director of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While Shakman only has one feature movie directing credit on his resume (the 2014 movie Cut Bank), he does have Marvel experience, having directed all nine episodes of the Marvel Disney Plus series WandaVision. Now he's getting to officially play in the MCU sandbox.
Shakman's other directing credits have come in the world of TV, where he has directed episodes of shows like The Great, Succession, The Boys, Billions, Games of Thrones, It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia and Welcome to Chippendales.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps behind the scenes
It has been a bit of a process getting the Fantastic Four their first official movie in the MCU. After Disney acquired 20th Century Fox, and as a result the Fantastic Four and the other Marvel characters the latter studio had rights to, they started working on a new Fantastic Four movie. Spider-Man: No Way Home director Jon Watts was originally the director tapped for the movie, but he exited the project in 2022, with reports saying it was an amicable split and that Watts needed a break from the superhero genre. Shakman was then brought on to take over as director.
Marvel Studios head Kevin Feige is on board as the producer of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, while Mitch Bell is listed as a co-producer and Louis D'Esposito, Grant Curits and Tim Lewis are executive producers.
Also worth noting is that Oscar-winning composer Michael Giacchino crafted the music for the movie. Giacchino is no stranger to the MCU, having worked on Doctor Strange, Spider-Man: Homecoming, Spider-Man: Far From Home, Spider-Man: No Way Home and Thor: Love & Thunder.
Solve the daily Crossword
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Yahoo
2 minutes ago
- Yahoo
The leading man we didn't know we needed is a 50-year-old 'daddy' with a heart of gold
Women love him. Men want to be him. Everyone can't wait to see what Pedro Pascal does next. He can play a romantic lead. He can steal scenes in prestige dramas. He can suit up for Marvel. And he can do it all in a way that makes women — and men — swoon. In the heat of summer blockbuster season, you can't miss Pedro Pascal at your movie theater. 'I'm everywherrrrrrrrrrrrrre 👥👥👥👥👥' Pascal playfully captioned a June Instagram post about one of his latest films, Eddington. And he's right. Right now, he's starring in three of the summer's most talked-about movies: Materialists, Eddington and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. His reign isn't limited to the big screen. In addition to dominating multiplexes, he nabbed another Emmy nomination for his role in The Last of Us and has continued to stir conversation about his fashion sense, viral interview responses and general sense of whimsy. It's a pivotal time for Pascal — a 50-year-old actor finally having the breakout moment he worked for his whole life, generating a rabid fan army that's passionate about his upbeat and empathetic persona. But being everywhere has its price. Pascal truly broke out in January 2023 when he starred as the morally complex post-apocalyptic father figure Joel in The Last of Us, which led to a Saturday Night Live hosting gig, which earned him an Emmy nomination and a key role in Gladiator II. As his stardom was reaching inferno levels ahead of the 2024 awards season, he got hurt tackling Paul Mescal while filming Gladiator II. Then, he got hurt again after falling down the stairs. Being in his late 40s, he couldn't recover as quickly as younger actors who were also breaking out as action heroes. Jason Walsh, Pascal's trainer who has also been his friend since 2014, tells Yahoo he saw Pascal go through 'a downward spiral.' 'When he came to me, he was like, 'I'm broken.' He was very vulnerable psychologically,' he said. Pascal, no stranger to the long road to stardom, began an excruciating journey to recovery. Walsh said he and the actor spent a full year just working on 'restabilizing' his body and helping him overcome the fear of being hurt again. Eventually, through setting small goals and working closely together, Pascal attained the strength needed to become a superhero and do most of his own stunts. 'It's one of my favorite stories, and it happened to a good friend … I'm really proud of him because these stories don't get told, because in the world of fitness, it's all about aesthetics,' Walsh says. 'He looks f***ing great, but this is his version of strength and resiliency. He's able to do all these things.' Yahoo reached out to Pascal's team for comment, but he wasn't able to respond due to his schedule. Walsh can't say enough kind things about Pascal, whom he called 'a beautiful person and so courageous' and 'super intelligent to the point where it's intimidating, in a way, but he doesn't rub your face in it.' Pascal's ability to, despite injury, challenge the masculinity norms for middle-aged men in Hollywood stands out to Walsh. 'There's a level of empathy, compassion and love [that is among the] many qualities you don't see in men anymore,' Walsh says. What his friends love about him is also what's won him such a supportive fanbase. That's part of the reason his ascension to superstar happened so swiftly. Once people knew about him, they couldn't get enough. He's just different. 'Vulnerability is a strength' It's no accident that Pascal is ascending at a time when 'toxic masculinity and nationalism' are converging, Deepak Sharma, a culture expert and professor at Case Western Reserve University who uses they/them pronouns, tells Yahoo. 'Pedro offers a kind of masculinity that isn't binary, and people love it,' Sharma explains. 'He presents himself in a way where you can't really pinpoint [his sexuality] … and you see him showing a vulnerable sensibility in his acting and daily life.' Masculinity norms in the Latino community can be even stricter than those in the general population. Pascal knows this firsthand — as the child of Chilean refugees, he has defied stereotypical machismo and advocated for gender equality long before the spotlight was shining brightly on him. Longtime fan Isabelle Deveaux, a 26-year-old who works in the film industry, first became obsessed with Pascal when he appeared in the first season of an FBI drama called Graceland, which premiered on the USA Network in 2013 — before mainstream media took an interest in him in Game of Thrones or The Mandalorian. She tells Yahoo that she tends to keep an eye out for Latinx people in Hollywood like herself. 'He just feels like Princess Diana to me right now. There's a video of him greeting fans out of a car in Mexico City, and I was like, 'That's literally Princess Diana greeting the masses,'' she says. 'He's been grinding for 25-plus years to get where he is, and it wasn't an easy path for him. … I don't think it's a trend. I think it's the fruit of his labor.' Because he's so personable and Deveaux has been rooting for him for so long, she says Pascal feels like one of her friends. That makes her feel even more invested in his success. 'Everything is so bleak, but at least it's Pedro Pascal summer, and I can go see him in everything,' she says. Fans aren't the only people moved by Pascal. The entire Hollywood machine is impressed. Annie Semenova, an acting coach, tells Yahoo that Pascal is —simply put — really good at his job. 'Pascal understands something fundamental that many actors miss: Vulnerability is strength. … He brings a lived-in authenticity that makes audiences feel safe enough to invest emotionally,' she says. 'He's proven he can carry both intimate character studies and tentpole blockbusters because he approaches each with the same level of preparation and emotional honesty.' Fans admire his emotional depth — they aren't just calling him 'Daddy' because he's hot, though he certainly is. The title he's been given isn't exclusively about his looks or his age. He takes on protective roles that inspire people to match his vulnerability with their own. 'It's the natural result of an actor who embodies masculine vulnerability, emotional intelligence and genuine warmth,' Semenova adds. To some, he's Daddy. To others, he's a meme and a progressive icon. All are correct, pop culture historian Marie Nicola tells Yahoo. He's so rare, it's no wonder he inspires such intense fan behavior. 'He's a reflection of us, the audience. Pascal is the first leading man built by the female gaze, the queer gaze and fandom culture — not the male fantasy industrial complex,' she says. 'He belongs to the people' It's also impressive that Pascal has held key roles in several shows and franchises integral to geek culture: the fantasy series Game of Thrones, Star Wars vehicle The Mandalorian, video game adaptation The Last of Us and comic book movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps. He's transitioned seamlessly from franchise to franchise, treating the source material and fandoms involved with dignity and respect. 'He was not cast into stardom. He was assembled — claimed by femmes, nerds, queer fans, Latino communities, moms, dads and those who are emotionally fluent in internet culture,' Nicola explains. 'He belongs to the people who need him to be whatever they want him to be at any given moment, and in that moment, Pascal is always down for it.' Several fans tell Yahoo that they're struck by how Pascal remains politically outspoken in favor of transgender and immigrant rights despite campaigning for major acting awards and leading a blockbuster superhero film. He frequently speaks out on behalf of the LGBTQ community and brings his transgender sister, Lux, to events. That contrasts with the strategy many other stars are employing in the current political climate. Stacy Jones, CEO of influencer marketing company Hollywood Branded, tells Yahoo this is extremely rare — not just the bravery, but the continued widespread support. 'He's walked that tightrope because he leads with empathy, not ego. He doesn't posture. He uses his voice in moments that matter, and audiences respect that,' she explains. 'This current moment [for Pascal] is the result of smart career choices, solid personal branding and real emotional intelligence. He earned trust, and in today's celebrity landscape, trust is the new currency.' On July 17 — with two movies in theaters and a major superhero film on the way — Pascal posted on Instagram about how the Trump administration would soon close the national suicide hotline for transgender youth. ''Maybe kindness is the real punk rock,'' one fan commented on Pascal's post, referencing a line from the new Superman movie, a rare blockbuster the actor doesn't have a role in. Empathy, a rejection of traditional masculinity and activism are not the kinds of things you see a lot from superheroes, but Pascal is in a league of his own — different from his peers in just about every way possible. He is, as his Instagram handle @pascalispunk suggests, punk. Solve the daily Crossword
USA Today
3 minutes ago
- USA Today
'Fantastic Four' post-credit scenes, explained: What did they mean?
The first family of Marvel hit theaters this week with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Led by Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm), Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm) and Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm), The Fantastic Four: First Steps is both "certified fresh" with an 88% from critics and "certified hot" with a 92% from audiences on Rotten Tomatoes. MORE FANTASIC FOUR: Our review of the new MCU movie WARNING: Spoilers for The Fantastic Four: First Steps follow! In the movie, the Fantastic Four have to figure out a way to protect their Earth from the cosmic being Galactus that has to devour planets for sustenance. When Galactus finds out the unborn child of Richards and Storm will be able to absorb his relentless need for consumption, he offers to save Earth in return for baby Franklin. Naturally, that is a deal that the Fantastic Four cannot agree to, so the quartet attempts to solve the problem in another way. There are two post-credit scenes, with the mid-credit scene being the more important for the continued story in the MCU. The first post-credit scene is four years after the events of the movie, with Sue reading to now 4-year-old Franklin. She gets up to find her son a new book, and when she returns, a strange figure in a cloak and holding a metal mask is in the living room with her child. The masked stranger is Dr. Victor Von Doom, a character that will be played by Robert Downey Jr. in the MCU. His home nation of Latveria was hinted at in The Fantastic Four: First Steps with a shot that panned the country's empty seats as Sue addressed the United Nations, but there is no reference directly to Doom until the end. The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place on Earth-828, with the rest of the MCU over on Earth-616. During one of the post-credit scenes in May's Thunderbolts*, the New Avengers intercepted an alert that a strange ship was entering their airspace. It turned out to be none other than the Fantastic Four, likely coming from another dimension. Is the Dr. Doom we see at the end of The Fantastic Four: First Steps Earth-616's Dr. Doom? Did he kidnap Franklin? The answers will have to wait until Avengers: Doomsday comes out in December of 2026. The second post-credit scene is just a fun animated Fantastic Four television jingle. It's cute, but not impactful from a story standpoint.
Time Magazine
4 minutes ago
- Time Magazine
Sorry, 'First Steps,' But No Fantastic Four Movie Has Lived Up to 'The Incredibles'
The critical consensus on The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that, finally, they made a good Fantastic Four movie. The previous attempts to bring Marvel's First Family to the big screen—a low-budget unreleased Roger Corman movie, a pair of middling films in the '00s, and Josh Trank's universally panned 2015 movie—were all failures, and while First Steps isn't by any means perfect, it's the closest thing we've gotten to a great Fantastic Four movie. Except, that's not really the case, because there was an incredible Fantastic Four movie just over 20 years ago. It just wasn't technically a Fantastic Four movie. The argument that Pixar's 2004 masterpiece The Incredibles is not-so-secretly a Fantastic Four film is hardly a new one, though it seems especially relevant in the wake of the original foursome making a high-profile, high-stakes, and warmly received (or at least warmly enough) entrance into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. The similarities between the Incredibles and the Fantastic Four are obvious; both are families of four people who all have superpowers, including one person with the ability to stretch, another who can turn invisible and make forcefields, and a big strong guy. It's not a one-to-one match; Fantastic Four have the Human Torch while The Incredibles' Dash has superspeed. The relations are different, too, as The Incredibles focuses on two parents and their two kids while the Fantastic Four consist of a husband, his wife, his brother-in-law, and his best friend. Brad Bird, who wrote and directed the Pixar film, didn't set out to explicitly make a movie about the Fantastic Four with the serial numbers filed off, and indeed The Incredibles is much more than just that. The Fantastic Four, one of the most famous superhero teams around, are an obvious influence, and there are shades of the X-Men, James Bond-esque spy antics, and Alan Moore's seminal comic Watchmen. (Bird claims he hadn't read Watchmen prior to penning The Incredibles, making it a coincidence that both plots involve superheroes in hiding after the government outlaws vigilantism.) To call The Incredibles a knock-off of any specific superhero story rather than a broad homage is to do the Oscar-winning movie a disservice, especially considering it came out four years before the start of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the truly modern era of superhero cinema as it exists today. Still, it's the Fantastic Four who seem like the most natural point of comparison to the Incredibles. The makers of the 2005 Fantastic Four movie certainly thought so; there were reports that they had to reshoot the ending of the live-action movie because they worried the cartoon had already outdone them. First Steps almost seems like it's copying The Incredibles; the movie is set in its own corner of the MCU's multiverse on a retro-futuristic world that very much resembles the stylish mid-century modern vibes of The Incredibles. Composer Michael Giacchino provided the music to both films, and in an interview Giacchino admitted that it was a challenge for him to differentiate the two scores. The Incredibles is the secret benchmark that Fantastic Four films need to try to live up to, and it's an incredibly high one. Certainly in the conversation for the title of "Pixar's best film," The Incredibles is a rollicking superhero adventure that also digs deeply into familial dynamics, touching on fears of infidelity, the way marriages change, and the way kids fight with their parents (and each other). Mr. Incredible (Craig T. Nelson) misses the thrill of crime-fighting so he goes behind his wife Elastigirl's back and accepts a moonlighting superhero gig. But when his employer, Syndrome (Jason Lee), reveals himself to be a spurned would-be sidekick who now wants to make it so no one is super (except him, of course), Elastigirl (Holly Hunter) and their kids Violet (Sarah Vowell) and Dash (Spencer Fox) must come to his rescue—and get the whole costumed family doing good together. The Incredibles is a remarkably standalone story. All of its influences are just that, influences, rather than homework. You basically just need to know that superhero fiction exists and have the vaguest awareness of the core tropes to enjoy The Incredibles, and even then you'd probably be fine going in with a blank slate. Compare that to The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is going to great lengths to attempt to be a standalone story. Despite being the 37th movie in the Marvel Cinematic Universe—a franchise that is clearly straining under the weight of its own continuity—First Steps takes place in an alternate reality. There are no shared characters, previous plot developments to be aware of, or even any Easter eggs connecting First Steps to the main MCU, and even though the foursome will eventually join the rest of the Avengers in Doomsday, out next year, the film ends without any multiversal voyages. Instead, we meet Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm (Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn) four years after they got their superpowers and watch them save the planet (and Reed and Sue's newborn son) from a powerful planet-eater known as Galactus. It's a grander plot than The Incredibles and it's executed more sloppily, but the focus is clearly intended to be on this family rather than a larger cinematic universe. And yet the looming specter of a continuity and questions about how the Fantastic Four fit into the MCU loom over First Steps. Even more oppressive is the sense that, for as much as First Steps tries in its aesthetic and with its marketing to tell audiences that it's a breezy, new kind of superhero movie, First Steps is sweaty. Fantastic Four needed to be good and do really well at the box office to help the MCU recover after an ongoing fallow period in the wake of Avengers: Endgame. It's a crucial pivot for the biggest franchise in the world, a superhero movie that's all-but explicitly tasked with reversing superhero fatigue. Meanwhile, The Incredibles is a breath of fresh air; a superhero movie made before costumed crime-fighters reached total cinematic and cultural saturation. (It helps that The Incredibles was made by Pixar during the studio's golden era that saw some of its best creative output. Marvel Studios, meanwhile, is tired and on the backfoot.) To mix superhero metaphors, the kryptonite of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is that it's following in another movie's footsteps. First Steps is a fine enough movie that's under a lot of pressure and scrutiny; The Incredibles is an unburdened masterpiece with similar characters, a similar look, some similar themes, and a similar score. Maybe that's OK, though—another similarity they have is that they're both owned by Disney. You'll be able to watch either of them on Disney+ soon enough.
