Movies - Fantastic Four: First Steps – Marvel’s Most Daring Trailer Yet Launches the First Family into the Cosmos

By Mulder, 17 april 2025

At long last, Marvel has revealed the much-anticipated trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps, and if there was ever any doubt about whether the studio could give its iconic first family the movie they deserve, this footage banishes it to the Negative Zone. Clocking in at just under two and a half minutes, the trailer is a sensory feast, a tone-setting, retro-futuristic vision that signals not just a new take on the Fantastic Four, but a redefining of what a Marvel film can be. We’re talking about a cinematic reboot that feels like it emerged straight from the pages of a 1960s comic book—one that was filtered through Stanley Kubrick’s lens and blasted into orbit. The music, the sets, the pacing—everything in this trailer screams confident, stylized storytelling. If you’re wondering whether Marvel’s Phase Six is off to a promising start, First Steps doesn’t just answer that—it boldly proclaims it with a confident 4 written in flame across the sky.

The trailer opens not with bombast, but with quiet curiosity: a child’s voice narrates over grainy footage of astronauts preparing for launch, and we see a scratched-up television screen showing archival-style images of the Fantastic Four suited up in pale-blue uniforms with white trim. Already, there’s a bold departure in aesthetic—gone is the slick, high-gloss sheen of most recent MCU entries. This world feels tactile, analog, lived-in. The visuals evoke a 1960s optimism about space travel, with hints of art deco futurism laced into the team’s tech. Reed Richards, played by Pedro Pascal, is seen hosting a charming children's science show, Fantastic Science with Mister Fantastic, and moments later, he’s shown facing down a planetary threat with a look of staggering resolve. This is not a man discovering his powers—this is a scientist, husband, and soon-to-be father who knows exactly what’s at stake.

And that’s the crux of the trailer’s impact: it emphasizes family. We’re shown quick yet poignant glimpses of Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and Reed exchanging a quiet moment over a medical scan—Sue is pregnant. While fans speculated on the title First Steps possibly referring to Franklin or Valeria Richards, this trailer confirms that their arrival is more than speculative—it’s foundational. That emotional undercurrent adds real gravity to the high-concept spectacle. Joseph Quinn’s Johnny Storm brings the fire—literally and figuratively—with a kinetic energy that zips between daring bravado and genuine warmth. Meanwhile, Ben Grimm, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, is introduced not with a punch, but with a ladle—cooking beside H.E.R.B.I.E. in a kitchen that looks pulled from a 1963 Sears catalogue. And yes, it’s hilarious, charming, and just meta enough to make you grin. If there was any concern that Moss-Bachrach couldn’t bring his dramatic chops from The Bear into something this fantastical, that fear is extinguished in seconds. He’s not just The Thing, he’s the heart of the team.

Then the trailer pivots hard—enter cosmic menace. The screen shimmers into interstellar territory, and we get our first haunting glimpse of Julia Garner’s Silver Surfer, her board cutting across a sea of stars with a fluid grace that is both beautiful and menacing. The fact that this Silver Surfer is Shalla-Bal, not Norrin Radd, makes the entire dynamic feel fresh and mythic. Her whispered warning—He is coming—precedes the chilling reveal of Ralph Ineson’s Galactus. We don’t see him in full, but we don’t need to. A massive shadow falling over Earth, a voice like crumbling stone, and a single cosmic eye piercing the clouds is enough. This isn’t just spectacle—it’s biblical. What’s striking here is that the trailer doesn’t make Galactus a bombastic doomsday threat. Instead, he feels like an existential force, something ancient and unstoppable, almost Lovecraftian in scope. The stakes aren’t just global—they’re metaphysical.

Stylistically, the trailer is one of the boldest Marvel has ever released. From its 4:3 aspect ratio introduction to its sweeping orchestral score by Michael Giacchino, it feels like a love letter to space epics and vintage futurism. The score especially stands out—blending soaring strings with jazzy undertones and analog synth pulses, evoking the spirit of the Space Age. You get the sense that this film is going to play less like a comic book movie and more like a mythological space odyssey. The Fantasticar makes a grand entrance, floating across what looks like a stylized matte-painted skyline of a retro New York, and the detail in the production design is staggering—from turbine engines inspired by '60s concept cars to Kirby-dot-styled cosmic backdrops. This is Marvel finally embracing the Jack Kirby visual ethos in its fullest form.

And the trailer’s ending? That’s where it lands with real impact. In a subtle but goosebump-inducing moment, we cut to black and hear the familiar static hum of an old television being turned off. Then, a slow voiceover from Pascal's Reed: We take our first steps... not knowing what we’ll find, but knowing we’ll find it together. The screen fades into the new logo—simple, elegant, confident—and then flashes a final tease: Prepare 4 Launch – July 25. It’s cinematic punctuation done right.

What’s most exciting here isn’t just that the Fantastic Four are back—it’s that they’re finally right. Shakman, who previously dazzled with WandaVision, has shown a remarkable ability to balance absurdity and emotion, and it seems that balance is the key to First Steps. Rather than leaning into gritty realism or slapstick comedy, this film appears to exist in a tonal middle ground where awe and heart can coexist. It’s not afraid to be earnest. It’s not afraid to be weird. It’s not afraid to be different. And that difference might just be what elevates it beyond the crowded field of superhero cinema.

After years of fan debates, casting rumors, and failed reboots, the Fantastic Four are stepping into the spotlight not just as superheroes, but as trailblazers. This trailer doesn’t just promise a new chapter for Marvel—it promises a new kind of Marvel film, one that’s willing to take aesthetic risks, emotional risks, and narrative risks. The MCU is turning the page with Fantastic Four: First Steps, and if the trailer is any indication, what comes next could be its most exciting story yet. July 25 can’t come fast enough.

Synopsis :
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 23, 2025 (France), July 25, 2025 (United States)