MARVEL MARATHON DEEP DIVE
THE FANTASTIC FOUR
FIRST STEPS
The Fantastic Four: First Steps reached US cinemas on 25 July 2025 with Matt Shakman directing Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach. It is set in the 1960s of a retro-futuristic world and is the first film of Phase Six.
A LONG ROAD TO MARVEL’S FIRST FAMILY
HOW THE FILM REACHED THE SCREEN
Kevin Feige confirmed in July 2019 that an MCU Fantastic Four film was in development. Jon Watts was announced as director in December 2020 and stepped down in April 2022, and Matt Shakman was hired by September 2022. Josh Friedman was hired to rewrite the script at the end of March 2023, Eric Pearson polished it by mid-February 2024, and the main cast was announced on 14 February 2024.
The film is set on Earth-828 in 1964, in a retro-futuristic world. Shakman called the look a “retro-future ’60s” aesthetic, “part what you know from the ’60s, but part what you’ve never seen.”
Principal photography began on 30 July 2024 at Pinewood Studios under the working title Blue Moon and wrapped at the end of November after 85 days, with location work in England and Spain. The budget was $229.6 million gross and $181 million net. Michael Giacchino composed the score, and the film was shot for IMAX.
A FAMILY, A HERALD AND A DEVOURER
WHO IS IN THE CAST
Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards, with Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Paul Walter Hauser as Mole Man, Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert, and Matthew Wood voicing H.E.R.B.I.E. Robert Downey Jr. appears uncredited in the mid-credits scene as Victor von Doom.
A BIG OPENING AND A STEEP DROP
HOW THE FILM WAS RELEASED AND WHAT IT EARNED
The film had its world premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on 21 July 2025 and opened in the US on 25 July. It opened to $117,644,828 in the US and went on to earn $274,286,610 there and $521,858,728 worldwide. Its second weekend fell 66%, to $38.7 million.
A mid-credits scene, set four years later, has Sue, reading to Franklin at home, see him with a man in a green cloak holding a metal mask. The post-credits scene features a cartoon version of Red Ghost.
THE REWATCH
AN 86% CRITICS SCORE AND TWO SATURN AWARDS
Rotten Tomatoes lists an 86% critics’ score from 408 reviews and a 90% audience score, and its consensus says the film “does Marvel’s First Family justice.” Metacritic gives it 65 from 54 critics and a user score of 6.5, and audiences polled by CinemaScore gave it an A-. Robbie Collin of The Daily Telegraph said it “makes you wish that Marvel had reached this point years ago,” while Esther Zuckerman of Bloomberg News said it “has a halo of cobwebs it can’t quite shake off.”
The film won the Art Directors Guild award for production design on a fantasy film, and Saturn Awards for best cinematic adaptation and best production design.
In the Marvel Marathon it sits in the MCU release order guide between Ironheart and Wonder Man Season 1. It sits between Thunderbolts* and Spider-Man: Brand New Day in the MCU movies in order and Marvel movies in release order guides. It follows Fantastic Four (2015) in the Fantastic Four movies in order guide, and in the MCU timeline guide it comes after The Punisher: One Last Kill.
QUICK ANSWERS
THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS WATCH QUESTIONS
Do I need to watch other MCU projects first?
No. The film is set on Earth-828, a universe alternative to Earth-616, so it works as a fresh start for the Fantastic Four.
How long is The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
About 2 hours (1 hour 55 minutes).
Is there a post-credits scene?
Yes. There is a mid-credits scene with a man in a green cloak and a post-credits scene featuring a cartoon version of Red Ghost.
Which Marvel Marathon guides include The Fantastic Four: First Steps?
It appears in the MCU release order, MCU movies in order, Marvel movies in release order, Fantastic Four movies in order and MCU timeline guides.
EDITORIAL NOTES
SOURCES AND UPDATES
Development, production, release, box-office and reception details are checked against a film reference, box-office data and aggregator scores, cited individually below.