Summary
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis already set to be one of the most anticipated movies of 2025. On Thanksgiving weekend, fans got a surprise that’s sure to match that excitement.
All the major details about the film have been kept largely under wraps– impressive considering the track record Marvel films tend to have with leakers, as well as paparazzi around their sets– but that hasn’t stopped rumors and theories alike from flying like crazy. The absolutely shocking announcement of Dr. Doom’s casting at San Diego Comic Con (SDCC) in Julyonly added fuel to the fire. The current villain is Galactus, played by Ralph Ineson, but there remains a chance that fans could see Robert Downey Jr. clad in armor of a different color than they’re used to come next year as well. Other than that, though, rumors anda few set pictureswere all that was known about how production was going. Until now.
On July 02, 2025, reputable film news sourceFilm Updates posted on XthatTheFantastic Four: First Stepshad wrapped production. Filming went on from July to late November, coming to a close before December just as Marvel Studios bossKevin Feige promised earlier this month. Marvel seemed to have been eager to kick off their usage of newly-obtained character rights, finally available to them after Disney finalized its purchase of 20th Century Fox in 2019. The development of a new Fantastic Four movie was announced at that year’s SDCC. Unfortunately there were some delays caused by the pandemic, meaning updates on that announcement were few and far between until Matt Shakman was chosen to helm the project in 2022. After that things were quiet again until February of this year,when the cast was finally announced via Marvel.com.
Although the originalFantastic Fourduology is famous for being poorly reviewed– they scored a 27% and a 37% respectively on Rotten Tomatoes, for example– it is somewhat beloved among fans of Marvel Comics’s ‘first family’ for two reasons: one, it’s the only time audiences have gotten to see the Fantastic Four on the big screen and two, the cast. Chris Evans, who would later go on to play Captain America, made his Marvel debut as Johnny Storm, AKA ‘the Human Torch’. He quickly became a fan favorite, and Evans made one final appearance as the character inDeadpool and Wolverineearlier this year. The cameo was a surprise, but Evansmay have actually hinted at it two years ago.
The Fantastic Four has had a storied past on the silver screen, and a lot of that history is negative. Other than the reputation of the original two, the most recent film (2015’sFantastic Four)was panned by criticsand is still regularly memed online. In addition, there is the existence ofTheFantastic Four, a 1994 film that was scrapped and never officially released. Regardless, fans of the iconic team are loyal and dedicated. There is a genuine love for these characters and all the stories about them. It’s fitting that this new iteration will release in July 2025, just two weeks after the 20th anniversary of the first one.
