The first trailer forThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshas officially dropped, giving viewers a look at Marvel Studios' take on the First Family. While there have been Fantastic Four movies in the past,First Stepsstands out for its space-age aesthetic — which hearkens back toStan LeeandJack Kirby’s originalFantastic Fourcomics run — and the fact that it’ll officially mark the beginning of Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. From the look of things,Matt Shakman(who previously helmed the MCU’s first official television seriesWandaVision)is pulling out all the stops to make sure the Fantastic Four live up to their names. With that in mind,here are the most important elementsfromThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’s first trailer.
The Fantastic Four’s Bond as a Family Is Front and Center
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsquickly establishes that it wants to hone in on one major element of the Fantastic Four —that above all else, they’re a family.The very first scene has Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and his wife Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) telling a reporter that the Four eat dinner every Sunday night as a family. Next up is Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), aka the Thing, who’s shown to be cooking in the kitchen with the Four’s robot assistant, H.E.R.B.I.E. Ben even congratulates H.E.R.B.I.E. on getting the spaghetti sauce right, which may double as a nod to Moss-Bachrach’s role onThe Bear.
But there are also some somber moments, particularly in a conversation between Reed and Sue. “Before we went up the first time, you couldn’t turn invisible…Ben wasn’t a rock…and Johnny never caught fire,” he says, which is intercut with clips of Sue’s brother Johnny (Joseph Quinn) utilizing his fiery abilities as the Human Torch, andthe fateful space flight that gave the Four their powers. Sue is quick to reassure her husband: “Ben has always been a rock. Johnny is…Johnny. And I am right here. Whatever life throws at us, we’ll face it together, as a family.” To back this up, other scenes are shown of Ben and Sue having a heart-to-heart, Reed and Sue in a deep embrace, and Sue walking in on Johnny goofing off.
Galactus Is Teased as the Fantastic Four’s Next Big Bad
Sue’s words couldn’t be more prophetic, as the closing moments ofThe Fantastic Four: First Steps’s trailerfeatures the first look at Galactus,who will be played byRalph Ineson (The Green Knight, Nosferatu). The Devourer of Worlds doesn’t just tower over the whole of New York City but is also sporting his comic-accurate helmet — a far cry from the massive cloud he first appeared as inFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Clouds of fire also mark Galactus' appearance, and the citizens of New York stare up at the sky, living up to the godly image thatJack Kirby wanted for the character. TheFirst Stepstrailer is missing one character: the Silver Surfer, who often acts as Galactus' herald.First Stepsis looking to shake things up as the Surfer isn’t Norrin Radd, but rather his wife Shalla-Bal, and will be played byJulia Garner. Garner herself hasremained mum on the Surfer’s role, only teasing the Sentinel of the Spaceway’s “mysterious” qualities.
John Malkovich May Be Playing an Old-School Fantastic Four Villain
Galactus might not be the only threat that the Fantastic Four faces inFirst Steps. A brief glimpse ofJohn Malkovichis shown, with the actor sporting long white hair and a matching beard. Given the setting ofFirst Stepsand Malkovich’s appearance, there are strong hints thathe’s playing Ivan Kragoff, aka the Red Ghost. Kragoff first appeared inFantastic Four #13, where he reveals he is a Communist scientist racing to beat America in the space race. Upon learning about the Fantastic Four, Kragoff switches his focus to replicating the incident that gave them their powers and takes a trio of primates with him: gorilla Mikhlo, baboon Igor, and orangutan Peotor.
Their exposure to cosmic rays granted Kragoff the ability to become intangible, while his apes also gained powers — Mikhlo has super strength, Igor is a shapeshifter, and Peotor can attract and repel objects via gravity. It remains to be seen how Malkovich factors into the plot, whoever he’s playing, but given that the Fantastic Four seem to be established superheroes inFirst Steps(and the trailer showing them racing into battle with their matching uniforms), opening the film with a battle against the Red Ghost would quickly help set the film apart from previous MCU entries.
The Fantastic Four Will Play a Big Role in Future MCU Projects
First Stepsis just the beginning for the Fantastic Four’s time in the MCU.The entire cast isslated to reprise their rolesinAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars —which features a version of the Four’s longtime foeDoctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.)as an antagonist. Having the Four interact with other Marvel heroes could also play into their long comics history: Reed, Sue, and Ben were briefly members of the Avengers while Johnny’s relationship with Spider-Man is one of the most iconic friendships in Marvel history. Marvel Studios presidentKevin Feigealso spoke about the importance of the Fantastic Four, calling them “legendary pillars of the Marvel Universe that we’ve never gotten to play with or explore in any significant way… in the way we’re doing [in this] film" onThe Official Marvel Podcast.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepswill also debut in a jam-packed summer schedule that includesJames Gunn’sSuperman, with the latter film set to kick off Gunn andPeter Safran’s DC Studios slate. But both films look to bring their own unique touch to the superhero genre, and in the case ofFirst Steps,it feels like everyone involvedwants to make a movie that captures everything fantastic about the Fantastic Four.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsblasts into theaters on July 19, 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
