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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
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  • Actor-Shared Background:
    • Jewish Ben Grimm/the Thing finally received a live-action actor raised in his faith: Ebon Moss-Bachrach has a Jewish father, and grew up in a Jewish neighborhood.
    • Natasha Lyonne as well. Her character, Rachel Rozman, is Jewish (Ben goes to the synagogue to see her) like her.
  • Approval of God: Many people who were involved with previous film iterations of the Fantastic Four have shown their support for the new cast of this film in one way or another.
    • Michael Chiklis, who previously played Ben Grimm in the Fantastic Four Duology, was nothing but supportive for Ebon Moss-Bachrach succeeding him as the character, being a big fan of his work. During the build-up to this film's release, Chiklis posted on Instagram that he actually found out Moss-Bachrach was playing Ben long before it was publicly revealed, though he didn't reveal it at the time out of personal courtesy.
    • Former Sue Storm actress Jessica Alba also gave her blessing to Vanessa Kirby to take on the Invisible Woman, and even met her in person to give some advice on how to shape the MCU's portrayal of Sue.
    • Miles Teller, who played Reed Richards in the infamous Fant4stic, expressed excitement to see Pedro Pascal's portrayal of Mr. Fantastic. He also wished goodwill for the movie's success, hoping that everyone involved wouldn't have to deal with the stigma of being associated with a critical and box office dud like he did.
    • Kate Mara, who played Sue Storm in Fant4stic, was happy with Vanessa Kirby being cast, noting how she liked how "different" the film looked from her iteration of the Four.
    • Prior to his death a few months after the film's release, Julian McMahon noted he was really excited to see Robert Downey Jr. succeed him as Doctor Doom in the post-credits scene, being a big fan of the latter performer.
    • Ioan Gruffudd, who was invited to the premiere alongside Doug Jones, noted on Instagram that he felt the new Fantastic Four film was "alive, well and in safe hands" after watching the film. Gruffudd and Jones previously played Reed Richards and the Silver Surfer in the Tim Story films.
  • Author's Saving Throw:
    • In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Joseph Quinn revealed that his portrayal of the Human Torch would have far less womanizing and callous behavior compared to the source material, as well as explore his attention-seeking behavior through a modern-day lenses to make him a more well-rounded character.
    • From the same interview, Vanessa Kirby indicated that her take on Sue Richards would be much more multi-faceted compared to the Extreme Doormat "goody two-shoes" she was portrayed as when she was first introduced as in the comics to give her more depth, specifically noting her status of being a mother and her emotional intelligence compared to the rest of her family.
    • Both the Fantastic Four Duology and Fant4stic were criticized for shoehorning Doctor Doom into the Four's origin story, which viewers felt made the story seem cluttered and took focus away from the main characters. Director Matt Shakman has indicated that Doom won't be involved in the events of this film so that the movie can focus entirely on the Four themselves. Doom does make an appearance, but only in a post-credits sequence, not the film proper, 4 YEARS after the events of the film.
    • Previous MCU films have received complaints for its over-reliance on shooting with green screen, with blatant CGI backgrounds becoming a prominent source of mockery in Phases 4 and 5. Matt Shakman confirmed in a roundtable interview with Collider that much of this movie is shot on practical sets and in real locations to address this. The crew also made sure to create live model stand-ins for H.E.R.B.I.E, the Fantasticar and Ben himself so that the actors could properly act alongside them.
  • Awesome, Dear Boy: Julia Garner was excited to join this film simply because the prospect of getting to be a female Silver Surfer was too cool to pass up.
  • Channel Hop: This is the first Fantastic Four movie to be produced by Marvel Studios after Disney's purchase of 20th Century Fox, the distributor of the previous Fantastic Four adaptations. Like with Deadpool & Wolverine, 20th Century Studios is listed as the copyright holder alongside Marvel.
  • Completely Different Title: Italy: I Fantastici Quattro - Gli Inizi (The Fantastic Four - The Beginning).
  • Content Leak: Some concept art leaked online in late February 2025, five months before the movie's release.
  • Cross-Cast Role: The on-set baby who played Franklin was actually a baby girl named Ada Scott.
  • Deleted Role: The movie originally included a fight with the Red Ghost (played by John Malkovich, as seen in the teaser trailer), but it didn't make the final cut.
  • Demand Overload: Many theater ticket websites and apps crashed after tickets for the movie went on sale.
  • Dueling Works: With Superman, another July 2025 superhero film helmed by a director who previously worked on the MCU, with a return of the property to retro-futuristic aesthetics. On both sides we have foundational iconic heroes for each brand — Superman as DC Comics' first superhero, and Fantastic Four, Marvel Comics' first Super Team. Both films are also coming off after two Darker and Edgier interpretations released a decade beforehand (Man of Steel for the former in 2013, and Fant4stic for the latter in 2015). Bonus points for the female lead in both, Vanessa Kirby and Rachel Brosnahan respectively, being very good friends in real life.
  • Dyeing for Your Art: Joseph Quinn dyed his hair bright blonde to match Vanessa Kirby's hair color and even wore blue color contacts, thus making Sue and Johnny look more obviously brother and sister.
  • Early Draft Tie-In: Ben's shirtless and barefoot Marvel Legends figure took inspiration from concept art in which his costume resembled his original comics attire, albeit with pants instead of briefs.
  • Fake American:
    • Americans Sue and Johnny Storm are respectively played by Vanessa Kirby and Joseph Quinn, who are both Brits.
    • The American Lynne Nichols' actress, Sarah Niles, is British.
    • Ted Gilbert, the American television show host shown in the official trailer, is portrayed by the British Mark Gatiss.
    • Ada Scott, the baby who plays Franklin Richards, is also British.
  • In Memoriam: The end credits contain dedications to three people: Inez Shakman (director Matt Shakman's mother), Jamie Christopher (first assistant director on many MCU films), and Jack Kirby, the creator of the Fantastic Four characters. Kirby's dedication includes a quote from him, reading, "If you look at my characters, you will find me. No matter what kind of character you create or assume, a little of yourself must remain there." Following this is the revelation that Earth-828, the Earth this film takes place on, was named after Kirby's birthdate, August 28, 1917.
  • Inspiration for the Work: Matt Shakman mentioned that The Space Race and the optimism of the JFK era heavily shaped the themes for this film. He also cited 2001: A Space Odyssey and Interstellar as influences for the film's shooting style.
  • International Coproduction: Between Marvel Studios (US), 20th Century Studios (US), and Constantin Film (Germany, uncredited)
  • Life Imitates Art: A major plot point is Sue being pregnant and giving birth to Franklin. Shortly after the film ended production, Vanessa Kirby got pregnant herself and she was noticeably so during the film's press coverage.
  • Meaningful Release Date: The first trailer was released on February 4, 2025, or "F4".
  • Method Acting: An interesting case in that Ralph Ineson would gain inspiration for his role by literally "thinking big" — as he was going through the Mont Blanc tunnel system, he imagined it as Galactus's windpipe, and he spent so much time looking down on London while at a wedding on top of the Gherkin building that it began to annoy his wife.
  • Missing Trailer Scene:
    • The SDCC teaser included a clip of a woman appearing on The Dating Game-inspired Let's Make a Match, and choosing the Thing over two more conventionally handsome men. The Fantastic Four Instagram page would eventually post the whole clip.
    • The first teaser opened with shots of Reed and Sue showing a man around the penthouse and telling him that the team all meet for dinner every Sunday "no matter what". This scene, and the character they're speaking to, did not appear in the final cut of the movie, but the Fantastic Four Instagram page also posted it.
    • This trailer also had a conversation between Sue and Reed talking about how the initial accident changed them that's absent in the film, but seems to have been meant for the scene when Reed is talking about how Sue will be the first pregnant woman in space.
  • Money, Dear Boy: John Malkovich admitted that he primarily signed onto this film because the paycheck offered was quite lucrative, having previously turned down other Marvel roles because he felt that the money offered wasn't enough by comparison. That said, he did praise the film's theater-like production regarding its use of greenscreen, and he was happy to work with Matt Shakman again after previously working on Cut Bank together.
  • Out-of-Holiday Episode: Despite this movie premiering in July, the story spanning a year means it includes some scenes of people celebrating Halloween and Hanukkah. This wouldn't mark the first time that Matt Shakman and Marvel celebrated Halloween out of season together, considering the WandaVision "All-New Halloween Spooktacular!" had a February release date, though that was also an In-Universe Out-of-Holiday Episode.
  • Playing Against Type: Natasha Lyonne (who is best known for playing an assortment of tough characters) appears in this film as Rachel Rozman, a happy and kind elementary school teacher who serves as Ben's love interest.
  • Playing with Character Type: Reed Richards succeeds the DCEU's Max Lord and Marcus Moreno as another superpowered father played by Pedro Pascal, but also succeeds the likes of Din Djarin and Joel Miller as a gifted child's guardian played by Pedro Pascal. Additionally, Reed's domestic and heroic partnerships with Sue further distinguish him from the aforementioned single fathers.
  • Production Posse: Pedro Pascal and Joseph Quinn previously starred in Gladiator II before getting cast as Reed and Johnny in this film.
  • Promoted Fangirl: Vanessa Kirby was a big Fantastic Four nerd, and especially loved Sue as a character before being cast as her. She ended up studying a lot about quantum physics in order to shape her understanding of Sue's powerset, to the point of "out-nerding everyone in the room". In other interviews, Kirby has mentioned her desire to explore Sue's Malice persona in the sequel, potentially meet Namor in Avengers: Doomsday, and also referenced Sue's date with Spider-Man.
  • Real-Life Relative: According to director Matt Shakman, he had filmed a scene involving his daughter Maisie, where Johnny rescues a child from falling debris.
  • Real Life Writes the Hairstyle: Natasha Lyonne had reverted to her natural blond hair after principal photography (and after completing Season 2 of Poker Face). An indicator of reshoots is the fact Rachel Rozman has blond hair in her scenes near the climax.
  • Recycled Script: The film has scenes inspired by, or are clearly lifted from, the Fantastic Four Duology (mostly nods toward the thematically relevant Rise of the Silver Surfer), albeit with several bits of context being changed:
    • Johnny plays with an action figure of himself to demonstrate them being merchandise, only for an annoyed Ben to crush it with one hand. This also happened in the 2005 film, but with a figure of The Thing instead.
    • Ben Grimm hates saying "It's clobberin' time!", which has been attributed to him for decades due to its use in the in-universe cartoon and marchandise. In the 2005 film, Ben also hates saying it because Johnny wants the team to be merchandisable. Also, like in that film, Ben finally says it during the climax, albeit begrudgingly.
    • Reed follows the Surfer's trail by tracing their cosmic energy to planets destroyed by Galactus, a plot point directly lifted from Rise.
    • Johnny pursues the Silver Surfer only to fail when the Silver Surfer leaves the atmosphere.
    • Near the end of the film, Sue dies in the climax only to be resurrected by someone with the Power Cosmic (the Silver Surfer in Rise, Franklin in this film).
    • In the climax of the film, The Silver Surfer performs a Heroic Sacrifice to stop Galactus when one of the team (Sue in Rise, Johnny here) makes them wonder My God, What Have I Done? to all the planets they helped Galactus to destroy.
  • Role Reprise:
    • In the Japanese dub, Maaya Sakamoto returns as Sue Storm after dubbing her in the Nippon TV (NTV) version of the 2005 film, being one of the few times a foreign voice actor reprise a role from a Marvel film done by a different company other than Disney into the MCU.
    • In the Latin American dub, Alejandro Orozco also returns as Johnny Storm after voicing him in the 2015 film.
  • Spoiled by the Cast List: And not even for this film. The infamous "chair cast reveal" for Avengers: Doomsday, released months before the Fantastic Four movie, reveals all four actors of the Fantastic Four would be in the film, therefore removing any chance of one of them dying in their own film.
  • Spoiled by the Merchandise:
    • The May 2025 unveiling of a Franklin Richards Funko Pop! officially disproved any lingering concerns that fans would have to wait for a sequel to see him.
    • Minor example, but the SDCC 24 Official Souvenir Map not only mentions Subterranea, the home of the Mole Man, but also shows multiple entrances to it around New York City, which hinted at it playing a role in the story.
  • Teasing Creator: Matt Shakman debunked multiple rumors that Doctor Doom would appear in the film, only for Doom himself to appear in The Stinger that takes place after the main events of the movie.
  • Throw It In: Franklin clapping after resurrecting his mother in the climax was something Ada Scott did entirely by herself in the spur of the moment. Matt Shakman liked it so much that he kept it in the final product.
  • Tuckerization: Rachel Rozman is named after and modeled on Rosalind "Roz" Goldstein, the wife of the Fantastic Four's co-creator Jack Kirby.
  • Uncredited Role: Three concerning the mid-credits scene:
    • The Russo Brothers directed the scene, but aren't credited for it.
    • The name of the child who portrays four-year old Franklin Richards doesn't appear in the credits.
    • Robert Downey Jr. makes a cameo as Doctor Doom, but is not credited.
    • German studio Constantin Film, which also coproduced all previous live-action Fantastic Four film adaptations, including the unreleased 1994 film, also coproduced this, though they went uncredited and distribution in Germany went to Disney instead of Constantin Film like the past films.
  • What Could Have Been:
    • Adam Driver, Dev Patel, Penn Badgley, Matt Smith and Jake Gyllenhaal were approached for the role of Reed Richards before Pedro Pascal was cast. Smith and Gyllenhaal previously portrayed Milo and Quentin Beck in Morbius and Spider-Man: Far From Home respectively.
    • Emma Stone and Margot Robbie were offered the role of Susan Storm before the casting of Vanessa Kirby, but turned it down due to disagreements over their salary. Stone previously portrayed Gwen Stacy in The Amazing Spider-Man Series.
    • Nicholas Galitzine was approached for the part of Johnny Storm before Joseph Quinn was cast.
    • Daveed Diggs and David Krumholtz were considered for the role of Ben Grimm before the casting of Ebon Moss-Bachrach.
    • Jon Watts was originally selected to direct the movie before Matt Shakman was hired, but dropped out of production due to general burnout plus a wish to take a break from comic book movies after launching the MCU Spider-Man Series. Michael Matthews and Reid Carolin were also in the running to direct the movie before Shakman was hired.
    • As noted above John Malkovich was originally cast as Red Ghost, but the character was cut from the final cut of the movie, with only the Super-Apes appearing in person and Malkovich being caricatured in the cartoon intro in The Stinger. Further interviews revealed that Red Ghost would have the one responsible for destroying Reed's teleportation devices at the last minute, but Matt Shakman felt that having the Silver Surfer be the one to do it would streamline plot for the audience as the Surfer would have a more understandable reason to destroy the devices (helping her master Galactus) than Red Ghost (who seems to have doomed the planet out of petty spite).
    • Pedro Pascal wanted to give Reed a more Trans-Atlantic style accent to befit the 1960s setting his version of the character was from, but Marvel Studios requested that he use his normal voice instead. Regardless, some takes of Trans-Atlantic Reed made it into the final film.
    • Per Vanessa Kirby's words, Sue's interaction with Mole Man during the climax of the film was originally a bit more confrontational, with Sue offhandedly reminding Harvey that she could give him an aneurysm in two seconds if she wanted to.note  That particular line ended up being cut from the film.
    • Sue originally gave birth to Franklin at the beginning, after rescuing the passengers of a space station, until Matt Shakman decided to spend more time showing the Fantastic Four prepare for the baby's arrival.
  • You Look Familiar:

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