The trailer for the upcoming movie, titled ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’, was released on 4th February with a classic take on the characters inspired by the original 1960s comics and their design. Directed by Matt Shakman (who also directed episodes of WandaVision, using different decades of sitcom styles to great effect), the film stars Pedro Pascal (Gladiator II, The Mandalorian) as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby (Napoleon, The Crown) as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn (A Quiet Place: Day One, Stranger Things) as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (The Bear, Andor) as Ben Grimm, alongside others with unconfirmed roles.
The trailer itself opens with Sue and Reed showing us around the Baxter Building, firmly grounding us in this futuristic 1960s silver age universe. On that note, the chalkboard Reed uses in later shots shows his fascination with space and/or multiversal travel, and since this New York skyline has no Avengers Tower in the 1960s, it’s safe to assume this is an alternate universe of the MCU. This also leaves the film with destructive room to play around with, without it impacting the core cannon. Shots of Galactus (Ralph Ineson) later in the trailer, alongside a meteor shower which fans rumour to be a cause of his herald the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner), strengthens the idea that this alternate universe may suffer a heavy blow.
Hopefully this is an MCU film that doesn’t rely on the Avengers for hits.
Additionally, the trailer keeps the idea of this movie not being an origin story, instead using flashback footage to quickly introduce the group’s backstory. A shot from the trailer has Ben Grimm (The Thing) watching documentary footage of the group's first voyage into space where they get their powers, alongside later shots of the group in space wearing different attire. So, we may be looking at a second space trip, perhaps to fight Galactus.
So what do I think is a breath of fresh air in the trailer? First, the costumes! They aren’t too realistic or overly designed, and they feel sufficiently camp enough to be from a comic book movie about a family of celebrity astronauts. Also, the shot of Johnny at 55 seconds in is amazing. His flames interact with the camera in a really cool way, producing lens flares and condensation. Later we even get this gorgeous shot of him floating in space. Also, the way Sue’s invisibility powers work visually is awesome! It looks like she’s actually bending light and colour and it's an incredibly creative way to translate the character to screen. Finally, the score by Michael Giacchino already sounds incredible, and I hope this movie is a real turning point in Marvel taking their time with projects and getting it right.
The trailer gives us a release date of 25th July, and likely another one closer to release, so there’s plenty to look forward to. Hopefully this is an MCU film that doesn’t rely on the Avengers for hits.