There's understandably a lot of excitement to see each member of Marvel's First Family in Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but it's The Thing we know many of you really can't wait to see in action.
The Bear and Andor star Ebon Moss-Bachrach will bring the Ever-Lovin' Blue-Eyed Thing to life in the MCU and talked to Variety about his transformation at the 2024 Emmy Awards yesterday evening.
"I’m doing a lot of motion capture on [‘Fantastic Four’]," the actor said, explaining why he'd ditched his usual stubble. "So for maximum-data facial capture, I have to be clean-shaven."
Confirming that they're roughly six weeks into production, Bachrach confirmed he's only seen "crude renderings" of himself as Ben Grimm and remains eager to check out the finished product.
"They got so many amazing animators working on it, literally hundreds of people working on it," he noted. "We’ve been shooting for about six weeks, and I haven’t been able to see anything yet, I don’t know exactly what the lead time is. I’m very excited to see something."
Asked about his co-stars, Bachrach added, "You got Joseph Quinn, you got Vanessa Kirby, Pedro Pascal. I mean this is a great-looking crowd. [They have] beautiful hearts, just a pleasure working with these guys. I miss them already."
Bachrach also revealed that, when he left London to head for the Emmys (where he won best supporting actor in a comedy series for the second year in a row), he found "a bunch of flowers and a bottle of champagne" in his hotel room sent by his fellow MCU newcomers.
"It’s really kind. [There was a] sweet card, [and I] teared up a little bit," Bachrach said. "I love them. We’ve been working so hard together. We’re so close, so even going away for a second I get a little separation anxiety."
Set photos have confirmed that a combination of motion capture and a physical suit will be used to bring The Thing to life on screen, though the hero is expected to ultimately be a fully CG creation in the upcoming reboot.
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) later coming on board for a final polish.
The movie is set to be released in theaters on July 25, 2025.