The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in a parallel universe (reportedly designated Earth-828), and that means we're getting a bold new take on Marvel's First Family.
One of the biggest changes to how these characters are typically portrayed on screen is the addition of Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm. In the comics, he's a powerful reality warper and one of the most powerful beings in the universe, even at a young age.
Following Jonathan Hickman's Secret Wars, Franklin used his God-like abilities to restore the Multiverse; he's that strong. With that in mind, you can likely imagine how the youngest member of this team will factor into Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars.
Today, we have a first look at some upcoming statues for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, where Franklin is shown alongside his mother, the Invisible Woman.
There's been a Funko Pop version of Franklin floating around, but these statues are movie-accurate and indicate that he'll at least be a toddler by the time this movie ends. Heading into Avengers: Doomsday, we'd bet on him being aged up even further.
Has Marvel Studios found a young actor to portray Franklin, or will he be a CG creation? We're hoping it's not the latter, though Hollywood has largely managed to perfect CG babies in movies and TV shows.
You can take a closer look at The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Franklin Richards 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. Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom is rumoured to appear, though that's surely a given with Avengers: Doomsday on the way.
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.