THE FANTASTIC FOUR's Mystery Statue From Set Photos Finally Revealed; New Details On Ladies' Man Johnny Storm

THE FANTASTIC FOUR's Mystery Statue From Set Photos Finally Revealed; New Details On Ladies' Man Johnny Storm

The mysterious statue first spotted on the set of The Fantastic Four: First Steps has been revealed in its entirety, while filmmaker Matt Shakman has also detailed his approach to the MCU's Human Torch.

By JoshWilding - Jun 05, 2025 04:06 PM EST
Filed Under: Fantastic Four

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.

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AllsNotGood
AllsNotGood - 6/5/2025, 4:40 PM
Johnny is a man's man?
lvcl
lvcl - 6/5/2025, 4:52 PM
@AllsNotGood -

More WOKE for the DISNEY machine
newhire13
newhire13 - 6/5/2025, 7:21 PM
@lvcl - Oh stfu.
Feralwookiee
Feralwookiee - 6/5/2025, 8:50 PM
@AllsNotGood - Of course.
This is modern Disney.
They've made him gayer than a 3 dollar bill.

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0bstreperous
0bstreperous - 6/5/2025, 4:40 PM
First Bond then Johnny
KennKathleen
KennKathleen - 6/5/2025, 5:00 PM
If they do that... the prophecy will be fulfilled...

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User Comment Image

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TheVisionary25
TheVisionary25 - 6/5/2025, 5:05 PM
That sculpture is really cool and it would be a nice Easter egg if it’s revealed that a blind sculptor named Alicia Masters made it (if Natasha Lyonne isn’t playing her already that is).

Also I’m liking Quinn’s take on Johnny the more we see of him which is honestly surprising since him and Ebon Moss Bachrach were the castings I was already most sold on for their respective characters…

User Comment Image

This version of Johnny being more of a dreamer is interesting since you can mine it on a comedic level where he comes up with all these crazy things that may or may not be possible and on a dramatic level aswell where perhaps he wants more out of life for himself in some ways such as love which is true to certain comic iterations of the character aswell.
PatientXero
PatientXero - 6/5/2025, 5:18 PM
Totally sounds like they nailed it.
Odekahn
Odekahn - 6/5/2025, 5:34 PM
@PatientXero - Yeah, to a cross.
Odekahn
Odekahn - 6/5/2025, 5:33 PM
“It's been a decade since we saw Michael B. Jordan bring the Human Torch to life on screen”

Yeah… he didn’t bring Human Torch to life. At all.

“I was interested in a Johnny Storm who was more than just a ladies' man and adrenaline junkie”

MORE THAN suggests that he’s other things IN ADDITION to a ladies man and adrenaline junkie… why do I feel like he will be neither of those things?

“Matt Shakman set out to modernise the hotheaded superhero for today's moviegoing audience”

🤦🏻
dagenspear
dagenspear - 6/5/2025, 5:57 PM
"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."

My issue with calling him a dreamer is that I think it suggests he's not an inherently flawed person. I don't see writing characters who don't have flaws and/or struggles that make them jerkish and/or problematic or depressed/angry as being a solid writing angle. For instance, I haven't seen much about Ben Grimm in this, is he going to be really struggling or self loathing or anything like that? I dunno. I haven't seen that be talked about much. Most of what I'm hearing seems to be, to me, complaints about his voice. What's his story or struggles?
MarvelZombie616
MarvelZombie616 - 6/5/2025, 6:00 PM
IT'S OFFICIAL:

This will be the 2nd comic book movie i will skip in my 45 years of going to movie theaters!

PS: Ballerina was great: 9/10
DenvertheDino
DenvertheDino - 6/5/2025, 6:53 PM
More woke garbage from Marvel who seems hell bent in destroying themselves.
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