The Fantastic Four: First Steps has assembled an impressive cast which will see Andor and The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach taking on the role of Ben Grimm, a.k.a. The Thing.
Appearing on Jimmy Kimmel Live! yesterday evening, the actor was asked by the host how well he got on with Robert Downey Jr. on the set of the Marvel Studios movie. "Uh, yeah, we lived together [Laughs]," Moss-Bachrach joked. "He asked me to move in with him."
The host then pushed for further details, wondering whether Downey's Doctor Doom appears either in the movie itself or a post-credits scene. The actor, clearly being careful not to give anything away, replied, "It's not gonna happen. I've been through rigorous media training."
Well, at least Kimmel tried!
Moss-Bachrach was next quizzed on the process of bringing The Thing to life on screen. "I have seen a very crude rendering because it takes a while to build this stuff. 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."
Kimmel interrupted to ask whether he saw The Thing smoking a cigar on those monitors to which he simply said, "No." We're not shocked to learn the hero won't smoke in a Disney movie, but what about his classic catchphrase, "It's Clobberin' Time!"?
"I slipped it in there a couple of times," Moss-Bachrach admitted. "We'll see what happens. I don't have final cut on this one, so we'll see."
You can watch the full interview 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.