It hasn’t been a banner year for Marvel Studios. Check that, it hasn’t been a banner few years for Marvel Studios. But Phase 5 is over, and there’s hope that Phase 6 will turn things around with The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which hits theaters in just a couple of weeks. And my guess is that Kevin Feige will be watching the box office of Superman very closely, to gauge how audiences are reacting to signature comic book heroes right now.
Interestingly, the latest trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (so much for last month’s being the “final” one) feels like a direct response to Superman, echoing many of the same themes and light sci-fi tone. Designed like a retro television special with a cordial narrator and everything, the footage goes a long way to introduce Marvel’s First Family and highlight their individual powers.
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.
How is all of this going to look with a baby Richards in tow? Perhaps the baby will become the next herald of Galactus? That’d be cool.
Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens on July 25th.
