Thunderbolts* landed a much-needed win for the MCU, but now the Fantastic Four reboot is the next big Marvel movie on the horizon, and it's got a lot to prove. Here’s everything you know about The Fantastic Four: First Steps before its release in theaters later this year.
Marvel Studios has struggled recently with underwhelming big-screen entries such as The Marvels and Captain America: Brave New World. Thankfully, some strong stories like Loki and the fun diversion that was Deadpool & Wolverine kept the spark alive and proved there's a lot of gas left in Marvel's tank.
The Fantastic Four haven't had the best luck when it comes to Hollywood, with both the 2000s and 2010s iterations being widely panned by fans and critics. Is it third time's the charm for Reed Richards and his team? Things are looking good so far with an all-star cast that includes Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, and even Robert Downey Jr. back as this universe's Victor Von Doom.
If you’re in the mood for some fresh Marvel goodness, you can check out some of the best Marvel TV shows released so far. Need to catch up on the big-screen side of things? Our list of the Marvel movies in order: chronological & release order is what you want.
Related: Best Marvel games of all time
The Fantastic Four: First Steps release date
After many delays and shakeups in Disney and Marvel Studios' packed release schedule for the next few years, it seems like The Fantastic Four: First Steps will finally come to theaters on July 25, 2025.
The Fantastic Four will supposedly mark the beginning of Phase 6 of the MCU. Other 2025 theatrical releases from Marvel Studios have been Captain America: Brave New World (February 14) and Thunderbolts (May 2), which closed out Phase 5.
What is the plot of The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
The trailers and the official synopsis shared by Disney and Marvel have confirmed that the new Fantastic Four come from a different universe to Earth-616 (main MCU continuity) and were assembled in an alternate version of the 1960s. The retrofuturistic aesthetic of this universe is one of Disney's secret weapons to combat the Marvel fatigue... and the fear of another stinker after three failed live-action iterations of these characters.
It seems we’ll get to briefly learn about the First Family’s cosmic rays incident, but the previews suggest most of the movie’s runtime will be spent following the group as they grow as their Earth’s saviors, and they face in-family struggles too.
As for the evil coming to consume Earth, it’ll be none other than Galactus, preceded, of course, by the Silver Surfer. This time around, however, it’ll be Shalla-Bal who prepares the planet for its imminent destruction instead of Norrin Radd.
We haven’t heard anything on the matter of Victor Von Doom showing up with a small role or cameo ahead of Doomsday, but we wouldn’t rule it out because Marvel loves its post-credits stingers. Will he come from this same Earth or an entirely different one? It remains to be seen, but the big credits scene for Thunderbolts* teased the Fantastic Four coming to Earth-616 in a hurry, potentially trying to warn Earth’s Mightiest Heroes of a threat to the stability of the entire multiverse.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailers
We finally got our first look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps with a reveal trailer on February 4, 2025. It showcased the cast and each character’s abilities, showing off the awesome retrofuturistic setting, and even giving us a glimpse at the end of the big bad of the movie, Galactus. You can watch it here:
A second, more plot-heavy trailer arrived on April 17. It revealed much more about the big changes coming into the group’s lives as well as the threat of the Silver Surfer and Galactus.
While the tone is cheerful early on, it quickly turns dark and ominous. If you don’t mind some mild story spoilers, check it out below:
The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast
The Fantastic Four is a very important movie for Marvel Studios, especially after way too many disastrous live-action adaptations, so they’re making sure diehards as well as casual audiences are interested in the reboot beyond brand recognition. We do think the amazing cast they’ve put together will surely help.
Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us) plays Reed Richards aka Mr. Fantastic; Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible – Dead Reckoning Part One) is Sue Storm aka Invisible Woman; Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) plays her brother Johnny Storm aka Human Torch; and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) is Ben Grimm aka The Thing after playing Punisher ally David Liverman aka Micro in Netflix’s The Punisher series.
We now know they're joined by Julia Garner (Ozark) as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, Ralph Ineson (The Creator) as Galactus, and Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell), Natasha Lyonne (Russian Doll), and John Malkovich (Space Force) in mystery roles. Robert Downey Jr. as Victor Von Doom hasn't been confirmed yet, but the chances of the Avengers-level villain getting at least a major cameo in this movie are huge.
And no, fan-favorite Mr. Fantastic actor John Krasinski won’t be reprising the role after having a surprise cameo in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Mind you, we could be seeing him again thanks to multiversal events and whatnot. However, the MCU’s main Reed Richards is Pedro Pascal, who is arguably one of the busiest actors in Hollywood right now and already was in the Star Wars side of the Disney family as Din Djarin aka The Mandalorian.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps director, writers, and crew
While the director behind the last Spider-Man trilogy, Jon Watts, was once set to direct The Fantastic Four, he instead chose to focus on the Star Wars series Skeleton Crew. Now, WandaVision’s Matt Shakman will be the man getting the movie made, as he’s gradually become one of the studio’s go-to creatives.
As for the script, it's gone through many iterations and writers, with scribes like Eric Pearson (Black Widow) and Cameron Squires (WandaVision) once being attached. Unless the trades missed new details, the script going into production has been put together by Josh Friedman (Avatar 4), with relatively unknown writing partners Jeff Kaplan (Atom TV) and Ian Springer (The Last of the Great Romantics) also silently working on it at some point.
Jess Hall (WandaVision, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) will re-team with Shakman to handle the cinematography, and Marvel Studios veteran Michael Giacchino (Werewolf by Night, Spider-Man: No Way Home) has been chosen to score the sci-fi adventure.
