‘Fantastic Four’ Trailer Gives Us Our First Glimpse Of Galactus
This morning, the cast of Fantastic Four: First Steps debuted the film’s first trailer in style. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach shared the trailer in front of a live audience at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center, HOME of Space Camp, in Huntsville, Alabama. The event was shared with fans via a live stream.
Pedro Pascal plays the team’s leader, Reed Richards, aka Mister Fantastic. Vanessa Kirby is Susan Storm Richards, the Invisible Woman. Joseph Quinn plays Sue’s brother, Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach plays Ben Grimm, aka the Thing. The trailer shows Sue, Johnny and Ben’s powers; Mister Fantastic has the ability to stretch his body, but we didn’t get any glimpses of that. We also don’t see Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer character.
But what we did get to see is the film’s early ’60s retro-future look; director Matt Shankman has a talent for capturing that type of look, as evidenced by his work on the Marvel television series Wandavision; the first few episodes of the show adopted the style of sitcoms from the ’50s, ’60s, ’70s, ’80s, ’90s and 2000s.
The trailer also shows the Fantastic Four’s headquarters, the Baxter Building, and Herbie the Robot, a character first introduced in FF’s 1978 Saturday morning cartoon (as a replacement for the Human Torch, who was unable to be used due to complex and boring legal issues). Herbie and Ben are working together in the kitchen, a playful reference to Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s role in the popular Hulu series The Bear (for which he won an Emmy).
Unlike prior film versions of the Fantastic Four, this has a bright and optimistic look to it. Like DC’s upcoming Superman, it looks to be a departure from the trend of “dark” superhero films. Although we do get our first look at Galactus (played by Ralph Ineson), one of the most powerful threats in the Marvel universe (he eats planets to survive).
Another thing the film has in common with the upcoming Superman movie: it’s isn’t an origin story; the film assumes you have an idea of who the Fantastic Four are; the trailer references how they got their powers. But it appears that the team have had their powers for a while by the time the film starts. This also doesn’t appear to take place in the Marvel Universe as we know it. But it is believed that 2026’s Avengers: Doomsday or 2027’s Avengers: Secret Wars will “merge” different universes and bring the FF into the same reality as the Avengers, Doctor Strange, Black Panther, Shang-Chi, Ant-Man, etc.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25. Watch the trailer below and check out the retro-themed posters for the film below that.
