Much has been said about The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Sue Storm being a mother. The expectation is that the reboot will introduce Franklin Richards, setting the stage for him to be a major player in Avengers: Doomsday and beyond.
Talking at the launch event for yesterday's trailer (which you can watch here), Vanessa Kirby discussed the Invisible Woman's comic book history. She also commented on why Sue being a superhero and mom drew her to the character.
"They are Marvel's family and you can't really manufacture chemistry between people," she started. "You can try and act it but we didn't have to. From the minute we all met, it felt like a family. That was everything. It's really what the heart and soul of it is.
"I was so blown away by Sue. Through all the comics through all the decades, the fact she's a mother and is so fiercely feminine...she's maternal but so badass. I just loved her bad arse, in my English accent," Kirby added.
A separate interview with the Good Morning America hosts saw the British actor asked outright if the MCU's Sue will have a child.
In the comics, she and Reed are parents to both Franklin and young Valeria, with the latter made Doctor Doom's goddaughter when he helps Sue safely deliver the baby in Latveria.
"You'll have to wait and see is what I can say," Kirby teased. "It was such an honour to read her throughout the decades. I started with the very first comic and to think that many artists wrote these characters and that many people have waited week on week for the episode...to have this family as part of their lives."
"We felt so honoured to come and join it. It was amazing to read those different decades. They change so much but the characters were all there for us to make what we wanted to because they were all facets," she continued. "They're so four-dimensional in the comics that we got to live them in one movie which felt amazing."
We can't say for sure why Marvel Studios is keeping Franklin under wraps but have good reason to believe he will appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, given what a huge character Reed and Sue's son is - not to mention his ties to the Multiverse - it's easy to see why that surprise is being saved for somewhere down the line.
Check out the full interview with The Fantastic Four: First Steps 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.