With the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally online, it appears we can look forward to merchandise for the reboot slowly starting to roll out into stores (we're likely still a couple of months away from seeing action figures and Funko Pops).
While we expect more movie-inspired imagery to eventually follow, this first batch is seemingly based specifically on the Future Foundation, with 1960s-era graphics standing in for Marvel's First Family.
There's a wonderful shot of H.E.R.B.I.E., though, and the iconic "4" logo we're sure to see a great deal of leading up to The Fantastic Four: First Steps' release this summer. The team's robot is already adorable and likely to be highly sought after in toy form.
We had much to discuss after watching the teaser, including Marvel Studios' take on The Thing. "I have seen a very crude rendering because it takes a while to build this stuff," Ebon Moss-Bachrach said last month. "They've got so many animators working on this."
"I wear a motion-capture suit [with] two cameras right here so they're capturing absolutely everything. Every nuance, every expression, every thought in my eye. It takes a while to build it so they're building it now."
"Andy Serkis, who is the godfather of motion capture in a way, has this company called the Imaginarium which is at Pinewood Studios where she shot Fantastic Four and he was very generous," he said of The Lord of the Rings and Planet of the Apes star.
"They have a room called the magic mirror where you put on the motion-capture suit and sensors and then they set up monitors and you can see, in real-time, a beta rendering...you can see the physics and how big the character is."
Take a closer look at this new promo art for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the X posts below.
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.
Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, and Natasha Lyonne have been cast in mystery roles.
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) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.