Before there was an Avengers Tower or a Wakandan throne, there was a cramped Baxter Building in the heart of New York City. And inside it? Four flawed, brilliant, bickering people who changed the world — both theirs and ours. The Fantastic Four.
Now, after decades of animated series, a checkered cinematic past, and one very long wait, Marvel Studios is finally bringing its First Family home. The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens July 25, and according to Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige, this isn’t just another superhero movie. This is foundational.
“Every big storyline that we’ve adapted to make our films, the Fantastic Four appeared in some version of them in the comics,” Feige said. “But they weren’t in any of the movies because we didn’t have the rights to them. That gave us a huge opportunity to establish them, on their own, in an alternate universe.”
Set in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic version of Earth-828, the film stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards (Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm (Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm (Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm (The Thing). The story kicks off four years after the team received their powers, skipping the origin beats and dropping us into a world where they’re already public figures and intergalactic defenders.
But for Feige, it’s not the cosmic stakes or shiny tech that define the team — it’s their messy humanity.
“When we meet them in the movie, it’s four years into them being the Fantastic Four. We wanted them to be settled into their fame and their powers so we could really focus on them as a family,” Feige explained. “They live in a home together. They get ready for bed together. We see Ben shave! That is what makes them Marvel’s First Family.”
That grounding in genuine relationships was exactly what co-creators Stan Lee and Jack Kirby brought to the table in Fantastic Four #1 back in 1961 — a revolution in comics that paved the way for the entire Marvel Universe. These were superheroes who argued, who failed, who loved and lost, and carried on. It’s the blueprint Feige still swears by.
“That was the genius of Stan and Jack… relatable, flawed characters who happen to have extraordinary abilities.”
In First Steps, that emotional core is put to the test when Galactus (played by Ralph Ineson) and his Herald Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) arrive to devour Earth — and kidnap Reed and Sue’s son, Franklin.
“It’s not powers. It’s not strength. It’s the ability to find a way through the impossible that makes a Marvel hero a Marvel hero,” Feige said.
Galactus isn’t your average mustache-twirler. He’s a cosmic force — inevitable, unfeeling, and necessary. “He doesn’t twist his mustache. He is not evil. He is a constant,” Feige noted. “A great white shark doesn’t hate you; it’s doing what it has to do to survive.”
Feige credits Matt Shakman, who previously directed WandaVision, with balancing the film’s tonal tightrope: honoring the “silliness” of a stretching genius and a rock-covered bruiser while keeping it grounded in emotional truth. And it doesn’t hurt that the supporting cast is stacked, with Paul Walter Hauser as the fan-favorite Mole Man and Natasha Lyonne playing the team’s whip-smart handler, Rachel Rozman.
“Once we cast the Fantastic Four with those four amazing actors, other people wanted to work with them,” Feige said. “It’s a great privilege to have a cast that is so talented, whose reputations are so good, that people want to come in for a few days here, a few days there.”
And throughout the film, you’ll find tribute after tribute to Jack Kirby, the creative godfather of the Marvel Universe. From the vibrant design of Galactus’s world ship to the closing credits, his fingerprints are everywhere.
“Galactus’ look is based right off Kirby’s designs,” Feige said. “There are little Easter eggs throughout the movie leading up to the quote that we all love, which is basically him saying, ‘I put a bit of myself in every character I make.’”
As Marvel’s Phase Whatever barrels on, The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn’t just about nostalgia or multiversal cleanup. It’s a statement. This is where it all started. And maybe, finally, this is where it gets good again.
Fantastic Four: First Steps is now exclusively in theaters.
The Geek is a working screenwriter, director and screenwriting instructor.
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