Marvel Releases a Synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Marvel’s First Family is ready to tell their story. Today, Marvel released an official synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, the upcoming debut of the Four in the Marvel Cinematic Universe… sort of. Phases 4 and 5 – especially Spider-Man: No Way Home and Deadpool & Wolverine – have established that all of the older, previously non-MCU movies exist in their own universes that are connected by the multiverse, so the Fox films are kind of in the MCU, but not really in the MCU, or something. Who can keep track anymore, or even be bothered to? But you know what I mean; this is the new one. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach play the Fantastic Four, with Ralph Ineson as Galactus and Julia Garner as a female version of the Silver Surfer (and she’d better be your favorite Silver Surfer, you miserable bigot). Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will arrive in theaters on July 25, 2025. Here’s the synopsis via ComicBookMovie.com:
“Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios’ ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.”
They’re doing what I assumed they’d be doing with The Fantastic Four: First Steps and setting the film in a different universe, one that is a mesh of a futuristic sci-fi world and 1960s America. If this were a Fantastic Four movie independent of the MCU, I’d be okay with that. It actually sounds kind of cool, keeping the tone and setting of the Four’s comic book origins while diving into the sci-fi nature of their stories and, in a world where the Space Race has come and gone, giving it a sense of discovery and hope for the future of scientific innovation. But because this is the MCU, which is supposed to be the “real” Marvel Universe in the movies (they go so far as to call it the 616 Universe), I don’t like that they’re making the Four visitors from another world. They should be deeply embedded in the MCU, even if they weren’t the first characters used; I’d be fine with them coming about later, but they should be part of the Marvel tapestry, not something thrown in through the lazy multiverse device. (Presumably, this is what First Steps refers to: the Fantastic Four entering the MCU proper.)
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
The rest of the synopsis is what we either already knew or assumed based on the facts. Galactus was announced as the villain of The Fantastic Four: First Steps some time ago, so it was easy to guess that his plan was to devour Earth. That’s fine, although I still think it’s a mistake to waste Galactus on a single movie instead of making him the looming threat of an entire MCU phase. There is another possibility, however: what if Galactus wins in The Fantastic Four: First Steps? Maybe the Four have to leave their world and come to the MCU because Galactus consumes their Earth, and they have no choice but to hop dimensions before they’re digested by the Devourer of Worlds. If they insist on doing the multiverse crap, they should at least do something like that to make it as interesting as it can be, like Spider-Man: No Way Home did. The synopsis also says that this adventure becomes “very personal.” I don’t know what that means in this case; Galactus isn’t so much a personal threat for the Four as an overwhelming cosmic disaster headed to Earth. That’s not a criticism; I just don’t know what they’re referring to, and that’s not a bad thing. I’d like a few surprises in the movie beyond the lady Silver Surfer. Speaking of whom, other publications are saying that this synopsis confirms that this will be a female version of Galactus’ most famous herald and that Julia Garner will play the character. I thought this had been confirmed months ago, but I guess not. Regardless, it’s a terrible idea that casts a pall on the film because it makes you wonder what other woke surprises they stuffed into it and whether it’s essentially a trap. I want this movie to be great, but I have doubts.
Let us know what you think of the synopsis for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the comments!
***
If you want to know what kind of political leanings movies have or just talk about cinema, check out the movie ratings community Criticless.
Get Your Geeks + Gamers merch here!
