The Fantastic Four: First Steps was a breezy adventure for the MCU's First Family with a runtime under two hours. Still, John Malkovich's Red Ghost was left on the cutting room floor, and the team's previous adventures were condensed into an admittedly fun opening montage.
Unlike many of Earth 616's heroes, the Fantastic Four are celebrities and beloved by the public. In a new piece of concept art shared by Rodney Fuentebella, we learn that the team spends time visiting sick children in the hospital.
This would have been a great moment to see on screen, particularly when so many MCU actors have suited up and done this in the real world, too (which Fuentebella confirms was a major source of inspiration while crafting this keyframe).
"Here is another keyframe I did for [The] Fantastic Four: First Steps," he shared. "This was early on when I was tasked to do scenes of what I imagine our heroes would do to show their personalities and their [lives]. I wanted to show what, frankly, our MCU celebrities [do] in the real world and visit sick kids in hospitals to give them a special day. I had a fun time painting this piece."
The artist has also shared a fun, unseen moment between Ben Grimm and Johnny Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. In that, the Human Torch finds a toy version of The Thing in his cereal box.
And yes, it says, "It's Clobberin' Time!"
Artist Thomas du Crest has also shared some of his designs for Galactus and his Worldship, teasing the massive scale of the Devourer of Worlds in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Set against the vibrant backdrop of a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world, Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps introduces Marvel’s First Family—Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they face their most daunting challenge yet.
Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer (Julia Garner). And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal.
Also appearing are Natasha Lyonne as Rachel Rozman, Paul Walter Hauser as Harvey Elder/Mole Man, Sarah Niles as Lynne Nichols, and Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert. John Malkovich was set to play Red Ghost, but was cut due to time constraints.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson and Jeff Kaplan & Ian Springer.
The movie is now playing in theaters.