There was a time when movie studios rarely shared the footage screened in Hall H at Comic-Con with fans online.
However, when the Suicide Squad trailer almost immediately leaked in 2015, it forced Warner Bros.' hand (which was unprecedented at the time) and we've since grown used to those sneak peeks hitting social media right after their San Diego premieres.
Yesterday evening, Marvel Studios showcased Captain America: Brave New World, Thunderbolts*, and The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Footage was shown from each of those movies, only for none of it to be released online!
It's just like old times today, though, as the early pre-production footage for the Fantastic Four reboot is currently doing the rounds on social media. While we're unable to share the footage with you here, it can be found on r/LeaksAndRumors.
In that, we see Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal is rocking grey temples) explaining parallel dimensions to a group of kids, the team in their blue spacesuits pre-superpowers, the Fantasticar rocketing through New York City, the Baxter Building, and The Thing on a game show. Unfortunately, he's mostly obscured in shadow!
After Marvel's First Family blasts into space, the comic-accurate Galactus is revealed peering into the window of a skyscraper we're assuming is the team's base.
As you might expect, the footage is being taken down pretty quickly by Disney but it's easy enough to find on Reddit and X if you're keen to hunt it down.
Explaining how the early footage was pieced together in an interview with Entertainment Weekly, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman said, "We shot a few days some stuff in this astronaut prep area, getting ready to go to space."
"We shot [the] dating game - Let's Make a Match, it's called - and we shot Reed Richards' science show that he does weekly for kiddos. And then we also combined it with a bunch of [pre-visualization] and animatics that we've been creating to help design the world."
Marvel Studios has announced that Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) will lead The Fantastic Four: First Steps cast.
We'll also see Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, and Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne in mystery roles. The story sees Galactus and Silver Surfer target Earth for destruction.
Director Matt Shakman worked with both Avatar: The Way of Water co-writer Josh Friedman and WandaVision's Cam Squires on The Fantastic Four: First Steps' screenplay, with Eric Pearson (Black Widow) recently coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.