Marvel's Fantastic 4 Gets New Title As Early Footage Screens At Comic-Con

At Marvel Studios' San Diego Comic-Con panel on Saturday night, it was announced that the movie will officially be titled "The Fantastic Four: First Steps." While the subtitle seems a little unwieldy, there have been quite a few other "Fantastic Four" movies, so it's understandable that they need to differentiate themselves. The movie is Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige's most anticipated upcoming project, with a lot of his excitement seeming to ride on the shoulders of director Matt Shakman, who worked with Marvel on "WandaVision." Feige's excitement translated to a whole lot of excitement for anyone who attended SDCC's Hall H Marvel presentation, which included far more than just the reveal of the "Fantastic Four" film's full title. For one thing, they literally flew the Fantasticar into Hall H (or at least a life-sized prop version of it), showing off the Fantastic Four's chosen mode of transportation. 

The Fantasticar flying in Hall H at #SDCC pic.twitter.com/v9IPKc2MJ6

— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) July 28, 2024

Attendees also got to see some pre-visualized footage from the film, which depicted a heavy 1960s aesthetic and was shot in 4:3 (the standard aspect ratio of the era), which hints that the team behind the film took its period setting to heart. They also got to hear from some of the cast and Shakman himself, who described the film as being in the "retro future of the '60s," which sounds unlike anything else in the MCU. 

The footage shown at Hall H depicted Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, carefully instructing a science class and speaking in a sort of retro way, like news reporters of old. Fans also got to see Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) on a dating show reminiscent of "The Dating Game," and the whole team on an outer space expedition, complete with old school spacesuits. Joseph Quinn, who plays Johnny Storm, told attendees, "I think we're all collectively going to bring an essence that is a family," which is perfect because the Fantastic Four pretty much are a family, since Grimm is the only one of the four that's not related. (Richards is married to Sue Storm, AKA The Invisible Woman, played by Vanessa Kirby, while her brother Johnny is the Human Torch.) For Kirby and Quinn, building a fake sibling bond came a bit more easily than expected, because according to Kirby, they are "the only Brits in the cast so we're gonna make everyone go to the pub, since we're filming in London." 

Composer Michael Giacchino ("Up," "The Batman") will be handling the score for the movie, which is sure to have some fun '60s funk and pop grooves. Perhaps the most important thing announced in Hall H for the Fantastic Four, however, is that the team of heroes will appear in the next two Avengers films, which is going to be an interesting way to shake up the MCU. Will some of our contemporary heroes go back to the 1960s? Will the Fantastic Four move forward in time? Oh well, that's a worry for 2026, when "Avengers: Doomsday" hits theaters. For now we only have to worry about the sweet sixties swing of "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," which will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.