The Fantastic Four: First Steps will finally bring Marvel's First Family into the MCU. However, this version of the team won't call Earth-616 home; instead, Marvel Studios is taking full advantage of the Multiverse Saga's premise to tell their story in an alternate reality 1960s New York.
The key difference between the two worlds? Well, this 1960s had genius inventor Reed Richards to make all those bold ideas people had during that period a reality.
"We knew that we'd be on another Earth, so we had a chance to reinvent what the '60s looked like," director Matt Shakman tells Entertainment Weekly. "I was really interested in imagining the Fantastic Four being astronauts. Instead of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin going to the moon, what if it was Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben who were really the first to go into outer space, the first to push those boundaries?"
Beyond the unique setting, it sounds like we're getting a much different take on each member of the Fantastic Four, including Johnny Storm. The world is a very different place now, and it seems there's no longer room for a reckless, womanizing Johnny.
"He's a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he's funny," Joseph Quinn says of the Human Torch. "Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don't think so."
"This version of Johnny is less callous with other people's feelings, and hopefully there's a self-awareness about what's driving that attention-seeking behavior."
Shakman adds, "[Johnny] is really smart. He's on that spaceship for a reason, and I think sometimes people forget that in various comic stories, he's been one of the most heroic of them, even if he's undercutting his heroism at every turn through humor. He's Sue's brother, which means they are cut from similar cloth."
Sue Storm has also undergone some big changes during the transition from page to screen; this take on the Invisible Woman has "helped achieve global demilitarization and peace," with the filmmaker describing her as "the most emotionally intelligent person on the planet. Between [her and Reed], they're building an idealistic society."
Vanessa Kirby also talked more about playing a pregnant superhero and confirmed she's taken a deep dive into the comics by referencing Sue's darker alter-ego, Malice (a negative aspect of her personality brought to the surface by Psycho-Man after she suffered a miscarriage).
"Matt and I were really aware that there hasn't really been a mother with a baby in these superhero archetypes women have been getting," Kirby explains. "One of the things I love most from Sue's history is when she becomes Malice, and all her dark stuff comes out. I was obsessed with that chapter of her life."
"So I wanted to make sure that there were tones of Malice in there with her, that she wasn't just the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother."
"I've always been really interested in the mess of femininity, and how can you be both? How can you be all the things? Not just the tough, invincible, powerful woman, but also a mother who gives birth, which is itself a superhero act," Kirby continues. "I love that these characters are real humans in a messy family who argue and try to work it out and get things wrong."
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025. Check out some new stills from the movie below.