Summary
WithThe Fantastic Four: First Steps,the titular heroes are making their way to the Marvel Cinematic Universe in yet another iteration following the last failure to launch Marvel’s first family, but one early behind-the-scenes image shows that the Disney-era franchise won’t be making one major mistake.
The Fantastic Fourhave beenoutside the auspices of Marvel Studios since its inception, a matter that greatly disturbed studio kingpin Kevin Feige and directly contributed to the crowning of the Avengers as the live-action franchise’s central pillar. Instead, the characters would be introduced to a mainstream audience by 20th Century Fox in two different iterations, the first being the fairly successful 2005 origin storyFantastic Four,which was well-regarded enough to earn a 2007 sequel inFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Those films, which featuredCaptain AmericastarChris Evans playing his fondly remembered role as the Human Torch, would end with the lackluster performance of the sequel and the team would lay dormant until 2015’s reboot, popularly referred to asFan4stic,did even worse than the previous sequel and quelled interest in the IP at Fox.
As a result of Disney’s powerful consolidation efforts, the rights to theFantastic Fourwould come home to Marvel Studios once again in 2019, and Feige would set about integrating the team into the MCU, a process that wouldn’t be easy. In addition to the behind-the-scenesdissonance that made 2015’sFantastic Foursuch a mess, one other serious issue came from the design of The Thing, as despite the character being one of the few upsides to the movie, he looked too far gone from his actual depiction in canon. However, the upcoming relaunch of the super team seems to be making sure that issue stays in the past, as new BTS images on X uploaded byCosmic Mediashow a costuming process still withThe Thingactor Ebon Moss-Bachrach donning a prosthetic suit to embody the character’s rocky transformation. Of particular note in the image are the more traditional color used for the character’s rocky exterior and the features of the face, which are much more closely reminiscent of his iconic design.
The Thing’s Design True to Comics
Feige already explained thatThe Fantastic Four:First Stepswouldn’t be an origin story, making the team’s costume and look ideally a forgone conclusion that shouldn’t be a distraction from the plot of the movie. Ben Grimm has always been a bit of a standout inFantastic Fourprojects, as he’s the only member of the team that undergoes a permanent and severe change to his appearance. Where Sue simply disappears, and Johnny’s impressive flame powers have become a mainstay of special effects, The Thing’s rocky visage maintains the potential to both create BTS difficulties and rub fans the wrong way. It was previously revealed that the character would be done up in CGI, so the addition of the practical suit is either a reversal to maintain the iconic look or an aid to the computer-generated tools intended to finish the job. Either one of these outcomes beats resigning to a repeat of the 2015 issue.
There’s a lot at stake for the MCU in getting this introduction right the first time, asFantastic Fourcould even be the next Marvel ‘event movie’and set the stage for the upcoming escalation inDoomsday.By making sure that the central characters are as unobjectionable as possible, the focus can rest squarely on the narrative being built for the MCU’s future. Fans can only wait and see how well the company does in this regard and how much it’ll mean for RDJ’s new role.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis currently set for theatrical release on Jul 29, 2025.
