Marvel Studios made several big teases at the recent D23 2024, focusing on upcoming projects like Agatha: All Along, Ironheart, What If…? Season 3, and Daredevil: Born Again. Of course, this also includes the highly anticipated The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Marvel’s first family joins the Marvel Cinematic Universe following Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019. At the event, Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige gave fans a sneak peek at the movie’s cast, who sent a special video message to the attendees and finally revealed their official MCU costumes.
The short video showed the cast of The Fantastic Four speaking to the audience from the movie’s set in the UK, where they were busy filming. The set featured a retro-futuristic vibe as the four sat at a dinner table. However, only Joseph Quinn wore his movie costume as Johnny Storm / Human Torch among the four.
But compared to the usual high-tech Kevlar or Tyvek-style suit, his costume seemed composed of a sweater with white sleeves and a blue midsection, paired with blue spandex pants and accessorized with a wide white belt. It also differed from his suit in the concept art, which was released when the cast was officially announced.
He also appeared to be wearing a blonde wig to make his appearance in line with his role. This suit matches the reboot’s 1960s vibe, with the Fantastic Four’s iconic logo front and center, hinting that it’s set a few decades ago and probably in another Marvel multiverse.
In addition, the other three are in their casual clothing. Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm / Invisible Woman) donned a black turtleneck, while Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm / The Thing) wore a zip-up hoodie. However, though Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic) sported a casual cardigan over a white button shirt, he also seemed to be in uniform as his human character rather than a superhero.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Will Not Be an Origin Story
Fantastic Four has seen several iterations, starting with New Horizon Studios’ 1992 movie of the same title. 20th Century Fox also produced three films from the franchise: Tim Story’s 2005 Fantastic Four and 2007 Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer and the box-office bomb 2015 reboot by Josh Trank. However, despite the different cinematic versions, director Matt Shakman told Entertainment Weekly that The Fantastic Four wouldn’t be an “origin story.”
“One of the things we decided early on was not to do an origin story,” he said. “One of the ways we're making it our own thing is we're not telling the story of them going up and being changed and starting our story [there].”
The filmmaker understands that many stories lead to that moment. Hence, they want to start the movie on a “completely new foot” and continue after that. Moss-Bachrach, alternatively, intentionally avoided watching the previous Fantastic Four movies. He didn’t even want to answer the questions about how it would differ from the other films to prevent opposition.
“We're really just making our own specific thing,” the actor continued. “This is no discredit to those movies. But we're telling our own very specific story.”
In addition to the main cast, Julia Garner will join the MCU film as Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer and Ralph Ineson as Galactus. The cast also includes Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne in yet-to-be-revealed roles.
True enough, The Fantastic Four may tell a new story, judging by its retro-futuristic setting. Marvel Studios will likely give it a fresh take, different from other iterations, to kickstart Marvel’s first family’s foray into the MCU.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to release in theaters on July 25, 2025.
