The future of the MCU is suddenly looking bright following the recent trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in United States theaters this coming July. With Marvel having just released the first trailer for the movie, the film will properly introduce Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm into the MCU.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer gives the MCU a new look
I’m hardly the first person to notice that, at least in recent years, a lot of MCU projects have looked the same when it comes to the visuals and production design. Perhaps there is a good reason for this — all of these shows and movies are taking place in the same universe, after all, so giving them some visual connectivity makes sense. I get the thinking behind it.
However, I also long for the days when MCU movies (and superhero projects, in general) didn’t all have the same kind of lighting, background, etc. Connectivity is good, but I care far more about exploring rich, vibrant worlds with my favorite superheroes than I do ensuring all of them have the same, bland CGI or greenscreen background.
The fact that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is taking place in a different reality than Earth-616 certainly helps, as it really feels like director Matt Shakman and all the other talent involved have created something that feels new. It feels fresh. And now that there are over 30 movies within the MCU, new and fresh are certainly not things we should be running from.
The lack of MCU cameos in the First Steps trailer is a good thing
My main, number one desire for The Fantastic Four: First Steps is pretty simple: I want it to actually be about the Fantastic Four. I don’t need another Deadpool & Wolverine or Doctor Strange 2, where a lot of the runtime is devoted to cameos and call-back references. They did that already. Multiple times. It’s time to move things forward a bit.
That doesn’t mean I’m going to get mad if Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom shows up, at some point, as I suspect he will. I’m curious how that all plays out, too! Having said that, imagine if Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom had been in this trailer — it would be the only thing that people would be talking about and, suddenly, the conversation would be about how First Steps sets up future MCU projects.
I’m not going to watch First Steps because I want to know how this plays into Doomsday or Secret Wars; I’m going to watch First Steps because I want a good Fantastic Four movie. Let’s see them deal with Galactus. I want them to explore how their team dynamic works. I’d really just love for them to keep this movie focused on the titular team; so far, the trailer has me relatively convinced they’re going down the right path.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer leaves audiences with the right kinds of questions
There’s also so much about this movie that we don’t know yet. Who is John Malkovich playing? Is Mole Man going to show up? Should we give H.E.R.B.I.E. an Academy Award right now or should we wait for the actual movie, first? (Now, I say let’s just do it now).
We don’t need to know everything in advance — Sony may be responsible for this a lot more than Marvel Studios, but my hope would be that forthcoming promotional material also keeps the mysteries of this movie alive. All will be revealed, eventually, but I’d much rather be sitting in the theater to find out what surprises are in store than have them spoiled in forthcoming trailers.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in United States theaters on July 25, 2025, from Marvel Studios.
