The Fantastic Four: First Steps – release date, trailer and MCU news

Of course, this is not the first time Marvel's First Family have appeared on the big screen, but both previous incarnations were poorly received – and hopes are high that this could be the film that finally does the legendary comics characters justice.

Meanwhile, while the actors chosen to play the four characters are all popular Hollywood faces, star Pedro Pascal recently admitted that he'd seen some backlash to the decision to hire him as the new Mr Fantastic.

"I’m more aware of disgruntlement around my casting than anything I’ve ever done," he recently told Vanity Fair, outlining some of the complains as, "He’s too old. He’s not right. He needs to shave."

Still we imagine those complaints are dwarfed in number by those very exciting to see what the Last of Us star will bring to the table.

This incarnation of the Fantastic Four are set to be front and centre in the forthcoming Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars, which sees Robert Downey Jr introduced as a version of their legendary arch-nemesis Doctor Doom.

After three underwhelming adaptations, comic book fans are hoping that the Fantastic Four's moment of glory has finally arrived – read on for everything we know so far about Marvel Studios's upcoming reboot First Steps.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps release date

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released in cinemas on Friday 25th July 2025.

It will be the third and final Marvel blockbuster of the year following February's Captain America: Brave New World and May's Thunderbolts* – and is intended to set the stage for next year's big crossover Avengers: Doomsday.

First Steps cycled through multiple other release dates before landing on its current spot, after successive MCU shake-ups caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Hollywood strikes and other factors.

In its current position, the film is launching only two weeks after James Gunn's much-anticipated Superman reboot, prompting concern from some fans that the nostalgic and colourful comic book flicks could split the movie-going audience.

For now, we'll just have to wait and see, but the box office for both will be important as Marvel Studios seeks to get back on track and Gunn hopes to launch an ambitious new era for the Distinguished Competition.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast – who stars in the Marvel epic?

The Fantastic Four: First Steps stars Pedro Pascal (The Last of Us), Vanessa Kirby (Mission: Impossible), Joseph Quinn (Stranger Things) and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear) in the lead roles.

Pascal and Kirby will play husband-and-wife Reed Richards and Sue Storm, perhaps better known by their superhero names Mr Fantastic and The Invisible Woman.

Meanwhile, Quinn has been tapped to play Sue's hot-headed younger brother Johnny Storm aka The Human Torch, while Moss-Bachrach takes a partially motion-capture role as Ben Grimm, who is transformed into loveable bruiser The Thing.

First Steps will bring one of the Fantastic Four's most iconic foes to live-action for the first time (no, 2007's dust cloud variant doesn't count), with The Green Knight's Ralph Ineson tapped to voice planet-eating entity Galactus.

Ozark's breakout star Julia Garner has been cast as one of his heralds, Shalla-Bal, who will be this universe's Silver Surfer – but don't worry Norrin Radd fans, it's quite likely we'll be getting him further down the line too.

On her character, Garner teased (via Deadline): "There's this mystery about her, and there's this sense of this ambiguous energy going on of whether she's good or not. She is the herald of Galactus, so she works for Galactus, but you're not sure where she stands.

"Does she stand with her boss, or is she just doing what she's told? She has this mysterious energy about her, and slowly that mystery will get solved with the audience throughout watching it."

Black Bird's Paul Walter-Hauser, Poker Face star Natasha Lyonne and Ted Lasso favourite Sarah Niles have also been cast in as-yet-undisclosed roles, alongside Hollywood legend John Malkovich – a major get for the MCU.

Notably, Lyonne recently voiced the character of Byrdie – a relation of Howard the Duck – in Marvel's What If...? season 3, but it seems likely she'll step into a different role for this story. That said, never say never!

In May 2025, voice actor Matthew Wood was added to the cast as HERBIE (as reported by Deadline), a friendly domestic android who helps out around the Fantastic Four's home in the Baxter Building.

Wood is best known for playing General Grievous in the Star Wars franchise, although presumably this will be a less menacing character for him to get to grips with. Voice performances aside, he is also a professional sound editor.

A plausible rumour also suggests that Robert Downey Jr could feature in the film's post-credits scene as Doctor Doom – perhaps the Fantastic Four's most famous nemesis – but this is just speculation for now.

At any rate, it won't be long before Marvel's First Family come face-to-mask with the dastardly ruler of Latveria, with the core four set to reprise their roles in Avengers: Doomsday less than a year after this film's release.

What is Fantastic Four: First Steps about?

The official synopsis for Fantastic Four: First Steps, courtesy of Disney, reads: "Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel's First Family... 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 and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus' plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren't bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal."

For the uninitiated, Galactus is an enormously powerful cosmic entity who can only survive by consuming planets, sometimes doing so with some remorse. He made his debut in the pages of Fantastic Four comics back in 1968 and has been a recurring foe for the team ever since.

The character has never been accurately portrayed in live-action, however, with the closest attempt being 2007's Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, where he was reduced to a cloud of space dust – as opposed to the towering purple figure known to fans (see below).

In April 2025, footage from Fantastic Four: First Steps was screened for attendees of trade show CinemaCon, revealing that Sue Storm will be pregnant in the upcoming film.

This will be major news to fans of the super-team as both of Sue and Reed's children go on to have major roles in the comic books; son Franklin is a powerful mutant, while daughter Valeria is a genius who develops an unlikely bond with Doctor Doom.

Don't be surprised if Sue gives birth by the end of First Steps and those children are then rapidly aged-up, as was the case with the Scarlet Witch and Vision's offspring in WandaVision and its follow-up Agatha All Along.

It has also been rumoured that lesser Fantastic Four villain Mole Man could appear in First Steps, perhaps as a secondary villain disposed of earlier in the film.

Meanwhile, Joseph Quinn recently teased that we're likely to see a rather different version of Johnny Storm compared with previous versions, explaining to Entertainment Weekly that he's no longer "this womanising, devil-may-care guy" fans might be familiar with.

"He’s a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he’s funny," Quinn said. "Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally.

"He was branded as this womanising, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don’t think so. This version of Johnny is less callous with other people’s feelings, and hopefully there’s a self-awareness about what’s driving that attention-seeking behaviour."

Marvel's Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer

Marvel dropped a teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in February 2025, which garnered more than 200 million viewers in its first 24 hours across all online platforms (via The Hollywood Reporter).

If you're one of the few not to have seen it yet, check it out below:

The studio followed that up with a second – slightly longer – trailer in April, this time including footage of Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer. Watch it below:

The excellent final trailer for the film was released in June, and begins with a quick look at Mark Gatiss's character, as he introduces the quarter to an adoring crowd.

But while the trailer teases plenty of the gorgeous '60s inspired aesthetics and once again suggests a fun, quirky style, it also gives fans their best look yet at the danger posed by the film's big bad, Galactus – and it certainly looks like he means business. Check out the trailer below:

Is First Steps linked to Fantastic Four (2005) or Fant4stic (2015)?

That's likely to be a firm no.

Produced by Marvel and 20th Century Fox, two Fantastic Four movies were released in 2005 and 2007, starring Ioan Gruffudd as Mr Fantastic, Jessica Alba as the Invisible Woman, Michael Chiklis as The Thing, Julian McMahon as Doctor Doom and a pre-Captain America Chris Evans as the Human Torch.

Evans actually reprised that early role in last year's Deadpool & Wolverine, where he was decisively retired by the sadistic Cassandra Nova (played by Emma Corrin).

Marvel and Fox collaborated on another screen version of the Fantastic Four in 2015, this time with Miles Teller as Mr Fantastic, Kate Mara as the Invisible Woman, Jamie Bell as The Thing, Toby Kebbell as Doctor Doom and a pre-Killmonger Michael B Jordan as the Human Torch.

These adaptations are not currently linked to First Steps, however, with Marvel Studios most likely wanting their latest reboot to stand on its own. That said, with several of Fox's X-Men now confirmed to be returning for Avengers: Doomsday, it seems that anything is possible in terms of comebacks from across the multiverse.

While you're waiting for Marvel's The Fantastic Four: First Steps, check out more of our Sci-Fi and Fantasy coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what's on tonight.

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