The Fantastic Four : First Steps Launches New First Look at Marvel’s First Family

Finally, Marvel‘s First family is back where they belong. The Fantastic Four will open Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe in the first-ever trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Marvel Studios and director Matt Shakman take us back to the future in this retro-futuristic 1960s world—a side of the MCU we have never seen before.

Pedro Pascal takes on the mantle of leader Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby portrays Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn is her younger brother Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach stars as pilot Ben Grimm/The Thing.

The Fantastic Four face their biggest challenge yet: protecting Earth from the cosmic threat of Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his metallic-skinned herald, the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). The only way to get through it is by working together as a true family.

First Steps also features Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles.

First Steps is the fourth live-action iteration of the First family. The first two films were Fantastic Four (2005) and its sequel Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer (2007), which are mostly remembered for featuring a pre-Captain America Chris Evans.

In 2015, 20th Century Fox revived the Fantastic Four franchise with a second reboot, Fantastic Four (also known as Fant4stic), a significantly less popular film starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, and Michael B. Jordan.

“This writer is incorrect,” you might be thinking to yourself. “There are only two live faction Fantastic Four films, not three.” Well, you are, in fact, the incorrect one, reader.

In 1994, German film company Constantin Film acquired the rights to this Marvel foursome. Despite being filmed, edited, and promoted by the cast, it was never officially released in theaters. However, bootleg versions still circulate on the internet. Fantastic Four (1994) is still available to watch on YouTube.

Consider this a recommendation—not because of the film’s quality, but because it has the charm that comes with watching something that is a product of its time. Those tight budgeted effects are highly endearing.

What’s Different About First Steps?

In an age where comic-book adaptions have become the norm in entertainment, Hollywood’s creatives must go above and beyond to capture the core of what makes these decades-old characters so timeless and beloved.

This especially applies to the MCU. After twenty years at the top, the Studio has started to lose its relevance in pop culture. Following its world-opening post-Avengers: Endgame, Marvel Studios desires to get back in the blockbuster business. They need to change.

The infamous “Space Race” of the sixties between the United States and the Soviet Union impacted more than just NASA’s technology. That clean, retro style—characterized by bright pops of color and sharp angles—also influenced fashion, architecture, and interior design during that era.

First looks at The Fantastic Four: First Steps promises a mash-up of the comic book accuracy die-hard fans love, and some unique stylized swinging sixties space-age inspiration production design that hasn’t been seen in any MCU installments.

It is a fitting setting for the Fantastic Four, who got their powers from being exposed to a mass amount of cosmic rays during a scientific space mission.

Unlike prior iterations, First Steps promises to go beyond being just another origin story. Instead of focusing solely on the space accident that gave these four their powers, Shakman and Marvel aim to jump past that and prove that what makes them special goes beyond their abilities.

The truth is, they have something that the Avengers nor Domonic Toretto could never have: family. Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben share a strong, unbreakable familial blond that can survive the cosmos.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be in theaters on July 25.