At this past weekend’s D23 Expo in Brazil, Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios brought more of the Fantastic Four and continued to tease what the movie is about, which lines up with what my insiders told me at Comic-Con over the summer.
Note: Potential spoilers follow.
While the D23 footage hasn’t officially made its way online and is getting yanked by Feige’s snipers, various descriptions have hit the net.
We already know the world of the Fantastic Four movie is set in a different universe. It’s their version of the 1960s which is undergoing a space race. The FF appear to be located in NYC where it’s not Avengers Tower, but the FF Baxter Building.
At the D23, Kevin Feige teased a different title, which is pretty interesting as I think a recent rumor said Marvel was changing the title to “First Contact” instead of “First Steps.” Feige teased the title should be “Fantastic Four Everywhere.”
“I like that title better. Maybe we should call it Fantastic Four everywhere,” Feige said, translated via latercera.com.
@MarvelStudios 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' releases in theaters in 258 days!!!!!
— KamCross Comics YT (@KamCross_Comics) November 12, 2024
I still can't get over the WONDERFUL D23 test footage!!!@FantasticFour #marvel #mcu #comic #comics #dailycountdown #FantasticFour #FantasticFourFirstSteps https://t.co/CFOq0wVRTA pic.twitter.com/7xJanX2NgE
The footage shown also included a reference to the Multiverse, which plays into what I have been told:
The first trailer (just over two minutes long) shows Reed Richards talking about an equation that would suggest the existence of other Earths in different dimensions. In his own way, Pascal’s character theorizes about the multiverse.
From what I am told and is my understanding, Galactus destroys their world and the FF escape into the Multiverse. Rumors also offer Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom is from the same Earth as the FF, so Downey’s Doom would also escape and make his way into the Multiverse.
I was also told the female Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner doesn’t make it out alive.
At the D23, apparently it’s also emphasized there is a space race happening:
It is a retro-futuristic world inspired by the 1960s, with a particular emphasis on the space race. “It is set in a completely different universe. With a completely different aesthetic, new suits, new vehicles,” Feige explained.
@MarvelStudios 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' releases in theaters in 259 days!!!!!
— KamCross Comics YT (@KamCross_Comics) November 11, 2024
Yesterday's footage was absolutely INCREDIBLE!!!@FantasticFour #marvel #mcu #comic #comics #dailycountdown #FantasticFour #FantasticFourFirstSteps https://t.co/WebJuD2CmQ pic.twitter.com/Y0aQfRrcal
More spoilers: According to Charles Murphy, John Malkovich is playing none other than the Red Ghost who in the comics was first a Soviet scientist involved in the space race who wanted the Soviets to reach the moon first (fits with the space race stuff in the movie). So what happens in the comics is that the scientist does a similar experiment/mission where he subjects himself and three apes to cosmic rays and they become the Red Ghost and his Super-Apes and battle the FF.
More spoilers: The Fantastic Four trailers and teasers released at Comic-Con and D23 have also teased Galactus. Again, I’m told the first act of the movie has Galactus destroying their world and they escape into the Multiverse.
It’s my understanding all the footage released so far is from the first act of the movie.
It also appears as if Paul Walter Hauser is playing Mole Man.
More spoilers: The first act features all these classic and different Fantastic Four villains. They’re all battling etc. Then Galactus shows up. Lucky for the FF, Reed already knows about the existence of the Multiverse, so as their world is destroyed they can escape.
What is interesting is that there is a space race going on to apparently see who can make it to the moon first. So does their world even know aliens exist? Or is Galactus and their version of the Silver Surfer their first contact? Then their world gets wiped out? Assuming this is all true, when the FF escape, where do they end up? When do they end up?
The Fantastic Four: First Steps gets released on July 25, 2025 directed by Matt Shakman and stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Jopseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
Michael Giacchino’s full score for ‘THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS’ has arrived! 4️⃣💙 pic.twitter.com/iY4VwDvSuI
— Fantastic Four Updates (@F4Update) August 9, 2024
