Well, Phase Five of the Marvel Cinematic Universe came to an end this week with the debut of Ironheart on Disney+. But the start of Phase Six officially kicks off next month with The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The fourth movie featuring Marvel’s “First Family”, and the second reboot following 2015’s disaster, the hope is that fans fall in love with this iteration of the superhero team. It has some stiff competition, coming just two weeks after James Gunn’s Superman and the launch of the DCU. Which nostalgic comic book icons will audiences choose?
The final trailer has dropped for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. And as usual in these situations, my advice is to skip it if you want to see the movie as fresh and open-minded as possible. Once again, I’m impressed with the retro-futuristic style chosen by director Matt Shakman, but also feel this approach could be a tough sell for Marvel. Shakman got audiences to dig it with WandaVision, but a feature film that people have to pay money for is a different proposition.
SYNOPSIS: Opening in theaters July 25, Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” introduces Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Jospeph Quinn, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles, The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25th.
