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ISN’T IT ABOUT time we got a good Fantastic Four movie? While Marvel’s most famous quartet have been among the publisher’s signature heroes since their debut in November 1961’s The Fantastic Four #1, all previous attempts to bring them to life on the big screen have crashed and burned. A pair of films in the 2000s—which arrived in the shadow of the success of Sam Raimi‘s Spider-Man trilogy—made a valiant effort, but the movies proved to be oddly-structured and tonally wrong. An attempt at a reboot in 2015, despite a stellar cast that included Miles Teller and Michael B. Jordan, was a complete disaster and a total non-starter.
There probably aren’t many other pieces of intellectual property out there strong and revered enough to merit a fourth bite at the apple. Imagine if the 2021 Denis Villeneuve-directed Dune, for example, was bad and flopped after David Lynch’s infamous 1984 adaptation suffered the same fate. And then a few years later another attempt came out and also failed. And then someone tried again. That’s how many chances Fantastic Four has gotten to get it right.
When Marvel Studios first re-acquired the Fantastic Four rights as part of the 20th Century Fox merger that was completed in 2019, it kind of went without saying that Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm would eventually be integrated into the Marvel Cinematic Universe. And the general feeling was some slightly apprehensive optimism. Sure, this has been a tough nut to crack to date, but the MCU was on such a winning streak—going into the release of Avengers: Endgame—that finally the people who can do it right had their hands on it.
It ultimately took more than six years to bring the Fantastic Four to the big screen, and a lot of the perception around the MCU has evolved. That previous confidence has undoubtably lessened, although the cast—Pedro Pascal as Reed, Vanessa Kirby as Sue, Joseph Quinn as Johnny, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben—added lots of fuel to the fire. But while Thunderbolts marked a return to form earlier the year, there remained questions and skepticism about whether or not the 2025 iteration of Marvel Studios would be able to crack a nut that has previously proven uncrackable.
We’re here to tell you that with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, they mostly pulled it off. This is a movie that clearly marks Marvel’s desire to get away from what was at one point the studio’s hallmark: constantly self-referential world-building and connections. First Steps undoubtably leads toward next year’s Avengers: Doomsday, but make no mistake—this is a story that exists in its own world (literally—it’s set on Earth-828, a universe separate from every Marvel story we’ve ever seen before) and only operates within its own barriers. There is no required reading ahead of The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
The story here is very, very, simple. We get an early speed run through our four heroes histories: After an errant trip to space, the four developed superpowers. Reed can stretch like rubber, Sue can become invisible and create forcefields, Johnny can generate fire from anywhere on his body and fly, and Ben became a giant rock man and has super strength to match. Reed makes a point early on that these aren’t just randos—as his wife, best friend, and brother-in-law, they’re the people who matter most in the world to him.
And that ‘family’ aspect is what the movie pushes for the most. The conflict can be described in about two seconds: Shalla-Bal / Silver Surfer (a fantastic Julia Garner) shows up to let the people of Earth know that their planet has been marked for death, as the giant world-eater Galactus (Ralph Ineson) plans to, well, eat the world. The Fantastic Four, then, have plans to make sure that doesn’t happen. That’s it! We don’t need to go about comparing this movie to Superman—because both are doing different things and have different intentions—but it’s interesting to watch one superhero story with a plot so simple and straightforward so soon after one with about a million different things going on.
Where First Steps is light on plot, though, it’s heavy on characterization. We really get to know Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben throughout the film, each brought to life in a way that feels bright and vivid, and the ’60s setting allows each performer to do something different from what’s been attempted in previous films. Quinn has the toughest job of the four, because while the 2000s Fantastic Four films weren’t good, Chris Evans’s pitch-perfect portrayal of Johnny stands out as a highlight. Quinn’s Johnny isn’t quite the cocky 2005 trailblazer that Evans’s was, but he holds his own.
That setting is a huge highlight and asset of First Steps as well. The movie creates a world around its alternate universe ’60s New York City, and it’s a wonder to look at and simultaneously hear Michael Giacchino‘s fittingly retro-futuristic score. Director Matt Shakman is more known for his work on television, but earned the First Steps job after crushing it with WandaVision, and puts a great visual eye and smart sensibilities on display here. Garner’s Silver Surfer is a highlight in performance, but her presence also adds a layer of urgency to the action sequences when she’s involved as well; Shakman uses this version of the Silver Surfer significantly better than the version deployed in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer.
We don’t get a ton about Galactus or his motivations. He needs to eat planets to survive, but we learn that he’s willing to make deals too; Shalla-Bal works for him to save her own world, and he makes a similar offer to the Fantastic Four—give over their seemingly-powerful new son Franklin, or face destruction. Actor Ralph Ineson (a mainstay of Robert Eggers’s movies like Nosferatu and The Witch) has the perfect baritone voice and imposing presence for Galactus, but depth seems to be something that might need to be filled in later. Still, Shakman figures out a way to really nail the scale and massiveness of the character—despite the little we know about Galactus, he’s undoubtably a frightening and imposing presence.
At the end of the day, though, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is all about introducing those titular characters and getting the audience on board with them, who they are, and what they do. Marvel has been lacking a true Tony Stark or Steve Rogers character for fans to love and rally around and lead their major crossover events, and maybe, ultimately, this group can become them. The supporting characters are more of a mixed bag; Garner and Paul Walter Hauser (with a very funny take on underground diplomat Mole Man) are highlights, but the movie doesn’t quite know what to do with the very talented and also very underutilized Natasha Lyonne.
We’ll see what happens next when the story of The Fantastic Four continues in Avengers: Doomsday (which is currently in production and slated for a December 2026 release). But for now, we’ll take this simple, enjoyable, fun movie as a strong entry, and the beginning of a story that might only continue to get better and better as it goes on.
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