It's been a decade since we saw Michael B. Jordan bring the Human Torch to life on screen, and it was another 10 years before that when Chris Evans first suited up as the character (he returned briefly as a Johnny Storm Variant in Deadpool & Wolverine last summer).
The Fantastic Four: First Steps may be set in the 1960s, but filmmaker Matt Shakman set out to modernise the hotheaded superhero for today's moviegoing audience.
"I was interested in a Johnny Storm who was more than just a ladies' man and adrenaline junkie," he told Empire Magazine in a recent interview. "I was looking for somebody who could be a dreamer. And I think [Joseph Quinn] is an incredibly alive, spontaneous actor."
However, Johnny won't be humourless, something that's evident from Quinn describing his "method" approach to Johnny. "I tried that on day one. I turned up doused in gasoline, and Pedro was chasing me around with a match."
"Like with any family, there's times you want to kill them," he says of his co-stars, "but I love them to death. I would take a bullet for all three of them. That's a bit dramatic. But I love them dearly. You can't force this stuff."
You may recall that, when The Fantastic Four: First Steps was shooting last year, a mysterious statue was spotted from afar. Well, we now have a close-up look at that, and it does indeed depict Marvel's First Family showing off their powers.
New York clearly loves its superhero team, and it would be an awesome Easter Egg to reveal that Alicia Masters (Ben Grimm's comic book love interest) was the one who sculpted it. However, that may be a waste if this reality is no more after Avengers: Secret Wars.
You can take a closer look at the statue in the X post 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.