The Fantastic Four are among the most influential characters in comics history, but they’ve yet to truly receive their due in live-action. Not for a lack of trying, in a saga that seems to be progressively going through ascending cinematic stages up to genuine critical adulation. The 1994 adaptation, the characters’ first foray into film, was so underfunded that it couldn’t even justify an official wide release. The Marvel team then received another at-bat via Tim Story’s mid-2000s duology, two flicks that were decently fun and financially profitable but lacked critical acclaim and fidelity to the comics. The next step occurred in 2015 via Josh Trank’s Fan-4-stick (sp?)… which, somehow, was actually a step back featuring some of the most ludicrous story choices, editing, and special effects of any superhero yarn this century. That, along with rumors regarding hotel-room temper tantrums allegedly by the film’s director, suggests we should probably move on quickly from that reboot.
The underlying reality for these adaptations, and thus where fans chose to lay the ultimate blame, was that the now defunct 20th Century Fox produced the last 3 of those films. When Fox sold its IP library to Disney, thus mortaging the rights to the X-Men & Fantastic Four, the fanbase received a beacon of hope that Kevin Feige and Marvel Studios would produce more faithful, but also (most importantly) quality adaptations of these characters.
Well, Marvel Studios is finally on the clock to prove their version of Marvel’s first family was what the property needed all along. So far, the MCU has been doing and saying a lot of what die-hards want to hear. Feeling that previous adaptations had failed to capture the spirit of the characters in the modern day, the fans asked for a 1960s period piece – and that’s what they’re getting. Including a look (costumes and retrofuturism production design) and feel (kitsch tone) that fans feel are consistent with the depiction of the team in its early run of comics. To increase the profile of the film, Marvel decided to employ a cast of recognizable names and faces to bring the team to life: Pedro Pascal (Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (The Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (The Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Thing).
Some of those casting choices have been controversial, but the production choices in totality signal a Marvel Studios that takes this legacy property seriously and is determined to finally bring it silver screen justice. For if this version of The Fantastic Four doesn’t wow audiences, perhaps it’ll never work? Nonetheless, Marvel has been heavily guarded with footage on the film, previously only showcasing it at Cons and various exhibits. That ended with the public’s first real glimpse of what the final product will be, which finally brings us to the recently released teaser trailer:
This looks very promising, even if there are some reservations. Right off the bat, some of my favorite shots: Johnny Storm flying around skyscrapers, the planet eater Galactus towering over Manhattan, and a TV broadcast featuring Ben Grimm suddenly turning off to reveal the reflection of The Thing with a sullen expression – excellent visual storytelling there.
As previously seen in leaked footage from months ago, the cinematography has a buttery sheen to signal to the audience that this is a 60s period piece… and I can’t say I’m a fan of the look just yet. Perhaps I’ll warm up to it in the final product, but it’s a bit too noticeable in a distracting way, a bit too reminiscent of AI concept footage, and in some shots just makes the image look flat and uninteresting. Such as when Reed Richards (Pascal) is reciting the team’s Sunday dinner schedule. There’s more than one way to elicit the feel of the intended era, and I believe a look that tried to mimic the grainy film of actual 1960s movies would be an opportunity to provide the cinematography with a punchy contrast that would compliment the colors and set design present in the movie. At present, the colors don’t quite look as vibrant as they could, but time will tell.
Yet the teaser is also about story and character, and those two topics are very much intertwined. However, there will be a time later to speculate on exactly how Marvel will integrate the characters into the MCU – we still have months to go folks. Perhaps in a longer trailer, we’ll see more of John Malkovich (presumably the Red Ghost) and more hints at what Galactus is up to and how the Silver Surfer may be involved. For now, like the teaser, I’ll just focus on the title heroes. For Sue Storm (Kirby) and Johnny Storm (Quinn), we see glimpses of the character composites we know from the comics, but not enough to make firm judgments on how well these portrayals will land. But Sue is the conscious of the team, the emotional heartbeat and glue, while Johnny is literally a hothead and a bit wild, but we know this already.
As for Pascal, who will have the internet on his ass if he doesn’t deliver a worthwhile Reed Richards, what we’ve seen of his portrayal lacks a defined tenor. We can only go off the little footage we have, but it’s hard to get a read off the character based on the previously mentioned tour through the Baxter Building. On the one hand, I find his stern and monotone declaration of the Sunday dinner plans to be humorous. It paints Richards as a square, an earnest nerd, and a tedious patriarch, which is one shade of the character you can go with. But it also lacks energy, which is potentially a setup for later in the movie where Reed gains the swagger that fans recognize, but it could also be a preview of a listless performance. We don’t know, again – tiny amount of footage. But it is something to keep an eye on, as if Reed Richards doesn’t land, it’s quite likely The Fantastic Four will not land.
But we’ve yet to go in-depth on the actual main focus of this trailer, or at least the character garnering the most buzz, as The Thing likely steals this first look. His physical design, seemingly a result of the latest in mo-cap technology, is an improvement and more faithful than previous cinematic versions of the character. His shape and texture is angular and gruff, just like it should be. Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal looks multifaceted, sharing some comic-accurate traits while also adding his own flourishes. But it ultimately hits at the heart of a man whose physical metamorphosis is the hardest to adapt to out of the four – due to the cosmetics of his appearance and the way it changes how people treat him.
In that vein, it is at first glance that The Thing doesn’t seem that fantastic. This feels true to how The Thing initially took off as a revolutionary comic book character. The Fantastic Four’s ascent helped establish Thing as an unconventional superhero, one lacking in the regal and charismatic appearance that had previously defined the archetypal superhero. The Thing, by contrast, looked like a science experiment gone wrong; thus, his ‘ugliness’ made seeing past his unusual exterior a requirement to truly see his genuine heart and heroism. Much of this everyman, flawed hero writing would rub off on Spider-Man as well, and is ultimately where Marvel breaks off and becomes dissimilar to DC’s larger than life/Gods among us approach to superhero storytelling.
The teaser’s overarching message is in establishing the team as a true family, which the trailer persistently drives home. The Fantastic Four are such a landmark creation because they evolved the complexities of inner turmoil, drama, and nuances to be had when writing for a superhero team. Perhaps the screenplay of The Avengers (2012), for instance, looks very different if the Fantastic Four never existed, and much of the challenge for this movie will be in producing similar relationship drama. Yet, these are also very distinct actors portraying these roles, and the hope is that those celeb personas are additive to the role but do not overpower the essence of the characters. I do believe those real-world personas are why you see a nod to The Bear in this trailer, referencing Moss-Bachrach’s TV role as The Thing and H.E.R.B.I.E go over dinner recipes. It fits since The Thing is a big eater in the comics, but the moment is also humorlessly subversive since comic Thing’s palette is hardly complex. More character moments that fit on that end of the scale and stay clear of whatever Fan-4-stick did on the other end of the scale.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will hope the 4th time really is the charm on July 25th, 2025.
