Everything We Know About Fantastic Four: First Steps -

By Luis Zonenberg

Summer is on the horizon as Marvel fans gear up for the release of Thunderbolts*, which will close out phase five of the Multiverse Saga. July will then see the start of phase six, the final phase of the Multiverse Saga! Coming in to kick off the next phase will be the highly anticipated Fantastic Four: First Steps, helmed by Wandavision director Matt Shakman.

Development on the film started all the way back in 2019, a couple years after Disney acquired the rights to Fox and its vault of Marvel characters. It was soon announced that Jon Watts was selected to be the director, following the massive success of Spider-Man: Far From Home. He stepped down in April of 2022, opting to direct Wolfs instead and take a break from the superhero genre.

Shakman was in early talks to direct in August of that year and was confirmed by September at the D23 Expo in Anaheim, California. Jeff Kaplan and Ian Springer were revealed to be writing the script the following month with Josh Friedman confirmed to be doing rewrites by the end of March the following year. Production was put on hold though, due to the strikes that occurred from May to November in 2023.

The main cast was oddly revealed in a Valentine’s Day themed poster card in February of 2024 confirming that Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bacharach would be playing the titular family. Julia Garner was revealed to be portraying the Silver Surfer by April of 2024. The main antagonist would be Galactus and while Javier Bardem was reportedly the studio’s top choice for the role, it was ultimately decided that Ralph Ineson would be portraying him instead.

Audiences got their first official look at the film at the 2024 Comic-Con panel, hot off the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would be returning to the MCU as the villainous Doctor Doom! While it remains unclear if or how much he will appear in the upcoming film, we can still expect him to face off against them in the upcoming Avengers: Doomsday. The panel also gave audiences a look at Michael Giacchino’s score for the Fantastic Four film, along with early concepts of Galactus and the Fantasticar.

The first official trailer was released online February 4, 2025, less than a week before Super Bowl LIX aired on FOX. Pascal, Kiry, Quinn and Bacharach appeared at a fan event in the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama to launch the teaser. The trailer showcased our first look at the dynamic crime-fighting family, giving audiences a first look at Galactus and John Malkovich’s mysterious role.

A new trailer was just released last week, revealing that Sue Storm’s character is pregnant and they would be inviting a new baby to the family; this potentially teases the addition of Frank and Valeria Richards, Reed and Sue’s children in the comics. We also got our first look at Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer, along with a couple more epic shots of a far more comic-accurate Galactus. With this being the third theatrical iteration of the iconic family, the hype is building as the MCU draws its Multiverse Saga to a close.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will release in theaters July 25, 2025.