For the first time in ten years, Marvel’s “First Family” is making a comeback in a new movie. The film, titled The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is set to be a major Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) project.
Fans know Mr. Fantastic, The Invisible Woman, The Human Torch, and The Thing from their long history in comics. However, their movie history is not as strong as Spider-Man or X-Men.
The team’s movie history began with a very low-budget film from 1994 produced by Roger Corman. In 2005, they had a higher-budget film, which was successful enough to get a sequel in 2007 called Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. These 2000s films were not terrible.
They had good casting but their silly tone made it hard to take the characters seriously. The 2015 reboot, known as “Fant4stic,” tried to be more serious but was a critical and commercial failure. It was plagued by production problems, leading many to doubt if a good Fantastic Four film would ever be made.
Luckily, things have changed. After Disney and Marvel Studios acquired the film rights from 20th Century Studios, there’s a new chance to introduce these iconic characters to the MCU.
Since the film was announced in 2020, fans have been curious about how Marvel will handle these characters. Now we know more about the film’s release date, cast, and other details.
Release Date For the Movie
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now scheduled to come out on Friday, July 25, 2025. It has swapped release dates with the Thunderbolts film. This change is surprising since Thunderbolts has faced casting issues. The Fantastic Four film will be part of Marvel Studios’ Phase 6, opening the same year Thunderbolts finishes Phase 5.
The film will be released in theaters. After its run, it will likely be available to stream on Disney+.
Trailer For the Movie
The film has just started production, so a trailer is not yet available. On Valentine’s Day 2024, Marvel released a retro-style poster announcing the release date and the cast. At SDCC 2024, some early test footage was shown, set in the 1960s style.
This footage featured Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) teaching TV, The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) on a dating show, and the team preparing for space. The footage also included a first look at Galactus (Ralph Ineson), presented in a comic-accurate way.
Cast For the Movie
Pedro Pascal will play Mr. Fantastic, and Vanessa Kirby will be The Invisible Woman. Joseph Quinn is cast as The Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be The Thing.
Julia Garner will play Shalla-Bal, and Paul Walter Hauser is rumored to be Mole Man. John Malkovich has a mysterious role, and Ralph Ineson will portray Galactus. Natasha Lyonne has joined the cast in an undisclosed role. There are also rumors about Doctor Doom, with Robert Downey Jr. potentially playing the role.
Plot For the Movie
Details about the plot are still secret. The film’s poster hints it may be set in a 1960s version of New York, which could be an alternate universe.
This idea was confirmed by Kevin Feige and Matt Shakman at SDCC 2024. The film will be directed by Matt Shakman, known for WandaVision, and written by Josh Friedman and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer. Michael Giacchino will compose the score.
