Everything to Know About Marvel’s ‘The Fantastic Four’ Movie Starring Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby
Marvel Studios has assembled a fantastic cast for its next superhero team.
In February 2024, Pedro Pascal and Vanessa Kirby were confirmed to be leading Marvel’s The Fantastic Four movie as Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic and Sue Storm/the Invisible Woman, respectively. Completing the film’s titular quartet are Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/the Thing.
Of course every superhero movie also needs a supervillain. Marvel has tapped Ralph Ineson to play Galactus, the film’s main antagonist who feeds off the energy of other planets.
The movie, set for a 2025 release, marks the third big screen iteration of the comic book series. Before starring as Captain America in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (a.k.a. MCU), Chris Evans starred as Johnny Storm in 2005’s Fantastic Four and its 2007 sequel, Rise of the Silver Surfer, alongside Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba and Michael Chiklis.
The heroes were rebooted again in 2015’s Fantastic Four, which starred Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Michael B. Jordan and Jamie Bell.
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Marvel announced the film’s casting in February 2024 by paying homage to the characters’ origins with a 1960s-inspired poster. “Happy Valentine’s Day from Marvel’s First Family!” read the caption of the Instagram reveal, which featured illustrated versions of the actors sitting in a living room in comic-accurate costumes.
The movie’s official title – The Fantastic Four: First Steps – was announced at San Diego Comic-Con in July 2024.
Keep scrolling for everything to know the Fantastic Four’s latest film outing:
When Does 'The Fantastic Four' Hit Theaters?
The film will premiere on July 25, 2025, two months after the release of Marvel’s Thunderbolts.
Who Is Starring in 'The Fantastic Four?'
Pascal, Kirby, Quinn and Moss-Bachrach were all announced as part of the cast in February 2024, with a few additions trickling in since. "[I'm] beyond excited, especially to be in that cast, more than anything, with that director Matt Shakman," Pascal told Access Hollywood in February 2024. "To be invited into a family like that is a dream come true, and I can't wait to spend all of my time with them."
Moss-Bacharach revealed Pascal launched the cast's group chat.
The cast expanded in April 2024 when Julia Garner joined the film, according to Deadline. The Ozark alum is set to play Shalla-Bal, an incarnation of the iconic Silver Surfer. In addition to Ineson, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne and John Malkovich have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
What Will Happen in 'The Fantastic Four?'
In true Marvel fashion, plot details for the film are being kept under wraps. However, the February 2024 poster provided a slight clue about how the team’s comic book origins might be incorporated into the movie.
A photo frame featuring a picture of Ben Grimm (pre-Thing transformation) can be seen in the background of the poster’s living room setting. In the comics, the foursome received their powers as a result of a space flight gone wrong. The astronaut Easter egg could suggest the characters will get their abilities in a similar way in the film.
Fans got a first glimpse at the film during Marvel’s San Diego Comic-Con panel in July 2024. Per the footage, the movie will take place in a futuristic, 1960’s-inspired universe outside of the main MCU timeline.
The sizzle reel featured clips of the main cast in costume and in astronaut suits, teasing that their origin will be shown in the film. Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm was shown in human and his rock form, though his transformed self was largely hidden in dim light. Perhaps the biggest tease of the footage came at the end, as a ginormous Galactus was seen peering into the the team’s headquarters through a window.
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Will 'The Fantastic Four' Be a Part of the MCU?
Unlike the Fantastic Four’s previous onscreen adaptations, the 2025 version will be the first to be set in the MCU. 21st Century Fox owned the film rights to Marvel characters — including Deadpool, the X-Men and more — prior to Disney’s acquisition of the studio in 2019. Deadpool & Wolverine, which hit theaters in July 2024, marked the first major crossover between the Fox and Disney universes.
The Fantastic Four characters have already been featured in the MCU, with John Krasinski making a cameo as Reed Richards in 2022’s Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. Krasinski’s version of the hero, however, was not from the MCU’s main timeline.
Who Will Direct 'The Fantastic Four?'
Matt Shakman, who directed the 2021 Disney+ series WandaVision, has signed on for the upcoming superhero film. Shakman took over directing duties from Jon Watts, who led Tom Holland’s Spider-Man trilogy, following his exit from the project in April 2022.
Will Doctor Doom Appear in ‘The Fantastic Four?’
One of the biggest reveals at Marvel’s 2024 Comic-Con panel was the casting of Robert Downey Jr. as the famous villain Doctor Doom. The character is one of the Fantastic Four’s most notable enemies in the comics and is set to be the big bad in the upcoming fifth and sixth Avengers movies, titled Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Details about Downey Jr.’s version of the character are currently being kept under wraps, including whether he will make an appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
