Warning: This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.
Summary
The MCU’sTheFantastic Four: First Stepsis one of the most hotly anticipated movies on its release slate, butMarvelmade sure first to kill off Fox’s Fantastic Four just before filming started.The Fantastic Four: First Stepswill be the third live-action iteration of the team to make it to the big screen. Pressure is mounting for Marvel to do its First Family justice as the last two Fantastic Four movies failed to inspire much confidence. At the same time, the studio will be keen to keep momentum afterDeadpool & Wolverinehas helped to reignite overall enthusiasm forthe MCU timeline.
WhileFantastic Four: First Stepswill feature the MCU’s definitive take on the team,Deadpool & Wolverinewas the second MCU movie to feature a Fantastic Four character.Deadpool & Wolverine’sbig cameo rosterwas in no small part the result of the movie featuring the Void - a location where many notable figures found themselves after being pruned from their own cinematic universe.Chris Evans' Johnny Stormwas one such character, making him the second of The Fantastic Four to make his way to the MCU after Reed Richards. Nevertheless, his appearance was cut short in a decidedly gruesome manner.
Fantastic Four: First Steps - Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Story, & Everything We Know
The MCU is bringing a new version of the Fantastic Four as part of its Multiverse Saga, and here’s what you need to know about this reboot.
Deadpool & Wolverine Killed Chris Evans’s Johnny Storm From Fox’s Fantastic Four
Chris Evans' first Marvel movie role was as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in 2005’sFantastic Fourand 2007’sFantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios was at liberty to debut this character in the MCU as it did with several X-Men characters from Fox’s franchise. Unfortunately for this Johnny Blaze variant, however, his MCU debut was brought to a swift and gory end as the movie’s arch-villain, Cassandra Nova, tore the skin from his body after Pyro’s pyrokinesis quashed his flame powers.
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It was an unceremonious, if hilarious, end to Evans' Johnny Storm, whose characterization as an arrogant hothead in Fox’sFantastic Fourwas on full display inDeadpool & Wolverine’s post-credits scene. In doing so,Marvel has emphatically cleared the stage for its own Johnny Storm, portrayed byStranger Things' Joseph Quinn. The timing is particularly conspicuous, as filming forFantastic Four: First Stepsbegan less than a week afterDeadpool & Wolverinehit theaters.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps Started Filming Last Week
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsbegan filming on Tuesday, July 30. This was a mere five days afterDeadpool & Wolverinewas released, and Evans' Human Torch was gruesomely executed to make way for Quinn’s take on the character. Similar fates befell many of Fox’s X-Men characters inDeadpool & Wolverine, helping to draw a line beneath their cinematic legacy while clearing a path for the new MCU-based iterations of the characters. Whether it was intentional or not, the violent move from one Johnny Storm to another feels particularly brutal.
Nevertheless, the hype surroundingThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis at an all-time high following test footage shown exclusively at this year’s SDCC.Casting The Fantastic Fourwas an important step for Marvel, and its choices seem to have struck the right chord - especially when it comes to the comic-accurate Galactus set to be portrayed by Ralph Ineson. It is unlikely that any other Fantastic Four variants will appear between now and whenThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis released in July 2025, with the path now wide open for Marvel to deliver the all-new Johnny Storm and his team.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Cast
The Fantastic 4: First Steps features Marvel’s First Family navigating their dual roles as superheroes and family members in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world. They defend Earth from a formidable space god, Galactus, and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer, testing their familial bonds and heroic resolve.
