Convention - CCXP Mexico City 2025 : The Fantastic Four: First Steps – A Cosmic Family Saga That Might Redefine the MCU

By Mulder, Mexique, Centro Citibanamex, 31 may 0002 to 31 may 2025

When the curtains lifted at the CCXP Mexico City 2025 panel, it wasn’t just another Marvel marketing event. It was, as many fans and industry insiders are now saying, the emotional and tonal genesis of what might become the most heartfelt chapter in Marvel Studios' cinematic universe. The Fantastic Four: First Steps had its coming-out party, and what unfolded was more than just an introduction to a rebooted team. It was a celebration of chemistry, vision, and storytelling that, in one electrifying hour, reminded everyone why these four heroes were once called Marvel’s First Family. As the cast—Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach—took the stage, the energy was palpable, not just from the thousands of fans gathered in Mexico City but from the actors themselves, who radiated an undeniable sense of unity. The stories they shared on stage weren’t rehearsed platitudes but living proof that something very special had transpired during the making of this movie. Kirby gushed about their instant familial bond, and Pascal spoke of the cast falling instantly in love. It wasn’t just PR polish; it was something real.

The footage Marvel unveiled during the panel felt like a throwback and a revelation all at once. In one jaw-dropping scene, we see Sue Storm go into labor on a spaceship while being hunted down by Shalla-Bal, a reinvention of the Silver Surfer played by Julia Garner. Reed Richards, ever the problem-solver with a heart, instructs Ben Grimm to fly the ship into a black hole to escape. This was not the typical heroes suit up and punch things clip. This was messy, emotional, high-stakes storytelling—with contractions, cosmic horror, and moral ambiguity colliding at hyperspeed. Joseph Quinn, as Johnny Storm, injects levity as he fires ship cannons and jokes about the Surfer’s seductive presence, even as Sue cries out in pain. The tension is real, the CGI reportedly stunning, and the stakes deeply personal. For those who wondered whether Marvel had lost its flair for blending spectacle with substance, this scene was a thunderous counterpunch.

The choice to set the film in a retro-futuristic 1960s-inspired universe is more than just aesthetic; it’s foundational. Director Matt Shakman, who previously warped reality and emotion to brilliant effect in WandaVision, has built an alternate Earth that looks and feels like the future imagined through Cold War-era optimism. Think 2001: A Space Odyssey if it were filtered through Jack Kirby’s pencil lines and Jewish Brooklyn’s brick walls. The production design by Kasra Farahani and costuming by Alexandra Byrne evoke a tactile, analog world: astronaut suits with brass buckles, blinking consoles, New York streets that smell of bagels and deli meats. Every visual detail seems handpicked to immerse audiences in a world that is both fantastical and hauntingly familiar. This design choice isn't just nostalgia; it’s a declaration of tone. This is a Marvel film that aims to be timeless rather than timely.

And that tone extends to the characterizations. Pascal's Reed Richards isn’t your typical MCU genius archetype. He’s more vulnerable, more weary, and—according to leaked test screening reactions—more haunted by the knowledge of what could be lost than what might be saved. Kirby’s Sue Storm becomes the emotional and intellectual linchpin of the team. Her pregnancy, central to both the footage and reportedly the film’s main arc, transforms her character into something far more layered than the Invisible Woman we’ve seen before. She’s a mother, a scientist, a leader. That vulnerability—depicted in the now-viral sequence where the Silver Surfer reaches toward her unborn child—grounds the film in something visceral. Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm, who’s already winning hearts thanks to his soulful interpretation (including a quiet scene where he cooks with H.E.R.B.I.E., the team’s robot), brings a melancholy warmth to what has often been a punchline character. And Quinn’s Johnny Storm is set to be a fan favorite, all smirks and heart, with enough pathos to remind us that beneath the fire is a boy desperate to matter.

Yet First Steps is more than just family drama in a spaceship. It’s also Marvel’s boldest move yet in reintroducing cosmic stakes with philosophical depth. Ralph Ineson’s Galactus, glimpsed in the test screenings, is described as a revelation: towering, mythic, and terrifying. Not a villain to be punched but a concept to be reckoned with. And Julia Garner’s Shalla-Bal, stepping into the role of the Silver Surfer with a feminine edge, is a storytelling gamble that appears to have paid off. Her pursuit of Sue’s child adds a mysterious wrinkle to her motivations and ties into the comics’ more metaphysical themes. What does it mean to herald destruction? What price is paid for cosmic loyalty? These are not surface-level questions. They suggest a film willing to slow down and ask, rather than shout and explode.

Even the film’s structure and marketing play with expectations. There’s no origin story here—just a time jump, and an assumption that audiences can fill in the blanks. Instead of wasting precious minutes explaining how they got their powers, First Steps drops us in four years later, into a family already formed and already strained. The test screening notes confirm that the film shifts fluidly between genres: one moment a space thriller, the next a domestic drama, and then suddenly an existential fable about legacy and sacrifice. It ends not with a clear victory but with an ominous note: a post-credits scene where Robert Downey Jr., not as Tony Stark but as Victor Von Doom, makes a shadowed entrance that’s already sparking internet meltdowns. This pivot signals a deeper truth: Marvel isn’t just reviving the Fantastic Four—it’s reshaping the next arc of its cinematic universe around them.

Behind the scenes, the film’s script evolved through a collective of writers, with each draft refining its emotional core and cosmic structure. That collaboration has birthed a narrative that doesn’t just entertain—it explores. Composer Michael Giacchino’s score, teased during drone light shows and early live performances, blends orchestral grandeur with a retro sci-fi pulse. It’s the kind of soundtrack that makes you feel like you’re living inside a graphic novel or walking through a dream. Giacchino is reportedly drawing thematic lines between family motifs and cosmic danger, turning leitmotifs into emotional compasses.

What makes The Fantastic Four: First Steps so uniquely anticipated, however, is that it’s being framed not merely as a film, but as a cultural event. From the beautifully designed Valentine’s Day teaser posters to immersive digital campaigns like a 404-error redirecting fans to a reading list, Marvel is pushing boundaries in how a film can engage with its audience before even hitting theaters. These aren’t gimmicks; they’re extensions of the film’s ethos. It’s not just about superheroes. It’s about building worlds, building trust, and building forward. And the cast—who admitted they text each other every day and tearfully embraced on stage—are as much part of that world-building as any FX team or storyboard artist.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps might ultimately stand as a turning point in Marvel’s storytelling legacy. After years of universe-building fatigue, where sequels and multiversal hijinks blurred into a sea of sameness, this film promises clarity, heart, and reinvention. It dares to be earnest in a landscape that’s become jaded. It dares to ask its audience to care again—not just about who wins, but about who they are and what they stand for. Whether or not it sticks the landing, one thing’s certain: Marvel is finally taking its most human characters into its most cosmic territory, and that contradiction may just be the secret sauce. Come July 25, we’ll all be taking our first steps with them—and if the love at CCXP is any indication, we’ll be running by the time the credits roll.

Synopsis : 
The Fantastic Four: First Steps plunges us into a retro-futuristic universe inspired by the 1960s and brings back to the screen Reed Richards (aka Mr. Fantastic), Sue Storm (aka the Invisible Woman), Johnny Storm (aka the Human Torch), and Ben Grimm (aka the Thing). Faced with the challenge of balancing their roles as superheroes with the strength of their bonds, this family must confront an enormous threat: the cosmic entity Galactus and his enigmatic right-hand man, the Silver Surfer, whose ambition is nothing less than to devour the entire Earth and all its inhabitants. And as if all that weren't enough, things suddenly take a very personal turn...

The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Directed by Matt Shakman
Written by Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Josh Friedman, Cameron Squires, Eric Pearson, Peter Cameron
Based on Fantastic Four by Stan Lee, Jack Kirby
Produced by Kevin Feige
Starring  Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles
Cinematography : Jess Hall
Music by Michael Giacchino
Production company : Marvel Studios
Distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures
Release date : July 25, 2025
Running time : 120 minutes

Photos : Getty Images / Marvel Studios