When the final trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps revealed Ben Grimm rocking a beard, fans immediately started questioning how The Thing could grow and shave his facial "hair."
Well, a newly revealed TV spot for the reboot has answered at least one of those questions as The Thing is shown using a power tool to tidy up his face. The hero having a beard seems to imply that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will feature a time jump...unless it grows incredibly quickly, of course.
The promo also includes new scenes with H.E.R.B.I.E. and Reed Richards getting better acquainted with his newborn son, Franklin. It was recently confirmed that Galactus wants the youngest member of this team in exchange for Earth's safety. Why? We'll find out later this week.
Talking to Deadline, Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige explained why now was the right time to reboot Marvel's First Family.
"Why Fantastic Four? Because it’s Marvel’s First Family. It’s in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers," he shared. "They were A-listers in the comics. Every crossover movie we’ve made in the Infinity saga, Civil War, leading to Infinity War and Endgame, which is really the Infinity Saga from the comics, the Fantastic Four were huge players in those comics and obviously we couldn’t do that then."
"It’s a no homework required go-see-the movie. It’s literally not connected to anything that was made before," Feige said of what fans can expect from the MCU's take on this iconic team. "It kicks off Phase Six."
He added, "There were a lot of left turns and surprises that happened over the last seven or eight years. A positive one was to finally have those characters back and the X-Men."
You can watch this new TV spot for The Fantastic Four: First Steps in the player 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, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles have been cast in supporting 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.