

Marvel Studios has just released the new teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It opens a with a view of the retro-futuristic Baxter building, as the family prepares for its 7:00 p.m. weekly Sunday dinner. The Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby) and Mr. Fantastic (Pedro Pascal) welcome two visitors, while The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) prepares the sauce with the help of his robot assistant, H.E.R.B.I.E. The trailer then reflects on the origin stories of the superheroes, who also include Joseph Quinn as The Human Torch.
The film gives the story of the beloved superhero family a 1960s aesthetic filled with nostalgia. The designs of both costume and characters lean heavily into the style of the comic book series. For example, The Thing bears a strong resemblance to the original artwork. It should be noted that the titular Mr. Fantastic was not seen using his powers in this trailer, which is likely a holdover of Marvel trying to avoid backlash following the visuals of the first Mr. Fantastic in the 2005 movie.
The trailer opens in a television style aspect ratio with a tour of Mr. Fantastic’s home highlighting that he includes a family dinner at 7 pm no matter what; showcasing his intimacy and tradition for his super family. The aspect ratio then enlarges to exhibit the Marvel logo in a retro style, similarly to a design trademark from the 1960s. The Thing then explains his cooking ritual to H.E.R.B.I.E. before the trailer goes into a brief introduction to each member of The Fantastic Four, including The Human Torch’s character Johnny, showing brief astronaut flashback imagery to hint at the cosmic accident where the characters notoriously gained their powers.
The scene cuts to a wide shot of a room with a giant TV emerging from the floor. We are then treated to a montage of the four preparing for that fateful space trip. The following montage is monologued over by Mr Fantastic commenting on how before the trip nobody had powers and now they do listing out what happened to each one with the exception of himself.
There is the shot of The Thing looking at past footage of himself, Human Torch launching himself off a balcony taking flight with his fire. Invisible Woman then responds that they have always been fantastic making a pun on visibility of being right here. As Invisible Woman takes over the monologue we are treated to a shot of the four watching the horizon as dark gold and gray clouds approach the city (associated imagery as the herld of an appearance of Galactus) we also get a quick 2 second shot of children dressed up as the thing before the iconic car drives by. Another montage is assembled of the characters using their powers with the exception of Mr Fantastic who is absent.
The teaser concludes with the shadow of Galactus ominously looking over NYC as The Fantastic Four intend to fight him as “a family” while the Thing and The Invisible Woman charge up for battle showing off in full the suits for this retro style. Much like the situation with Mr Fantastic very little is seen of Galactus outside of the helmet hint that his humanoid appearance made it into the film, in 2007 a very controversial take of a Galactus was used for the second of the initial Fantastic Four films where he was a force of nature, nonsensient and non-speaking, which irked a lot of fans who enjoy the depth of the world devouring villain.
As mentioned, the trailer includes the backstory of the characters. It highlights scenes of the iconic rocket, which served as the conduit that led to the catalyst of the four becoming superheroes or “fantastic.” It references major story arcs from the comic books, such as The Thing dealing with his transformation and the relationship between Mr. Fantastic and the Invisible Woman. We also see Human Torch launching himself through the atmosphere, hinting that perhaps there might be an aerial battle of some kind in film.
In addition to the main cast, the new film will star Julia Garner as Silver Surfer. Other cast members include Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich. Much to fans liking, the featured villain Galactus will be played by Ralph Ineson, who has received acclaim for his work in Robert Eggers’ horror pictures Nosferatu and The Witch.
While it has been announced that Robert Downey Jr. will join the MCU as the infamous Victor Von Doom, he is not set to appear in the film. However, there is a speculation that his character might be mentioned in the upcoming picture, considering his infamy in Marvel Comic lore.
Because the trailer shows the four superheroes in a retro cityscape, there is speculation whether the new movie takes place in an alternate reality, similar to other Marvel productions. If this speculation is true, it would make sense why none of the Fantastic 4 have appeared in any MCU films thus far, with the one exception being John Krasinski as Dr. Reed Richards in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to premier on July 25, 2025, and the trailer is available to watch on YouTube.