It's an exciting time for the Marvel Cinematic Universe. It always is when there is an Avengers movie on the way, but this time around, it means that the upcoming titles could bring with them some major cameos and appearances. The Multiverse Saga is beginning to prepare for its culmination and that could result in some big surprises; it also means that every MCU project is more important to the overall franchise than ever, for who knows what could happen - or who could appear - in them.
After the critically-acclaimed Thunderbolts* thrived on positive word-of-mouth and switched things up, the franchise's next installment is The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach take center stage in a film that will undoubtedly change the game for the MCU, introducing us to the franchise's official versions of Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic, Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm / Human Torch, and Ben Grimm / The Thing in the process.
But there is another character set to appear in that movie who the studio has intentionally not shown us until now.
Marvel unveils first look at Franklin Richards in The Fantastic Four: First Steps teaser
Marvel Studios has released a new teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps to align with the film's tickets going on-sale. During that clip, we see our first look at Franklin Richards, the son of Reed Richards and Sue Storm who will be born at some point during the movie. Fans had been waiting to see the first look at the character ever since the official trailer for the film confirmed that Sue will be pregnant in the upcoming movie.
This is a major moment for the franchise, and not just because Franklin is an important character to the Fantastic Four lore. He's also one of the most powerful characters to ever grace the pages of Marvel Comics with truly limitless powers. His most significant ability is that of reality-warping and he was - get this! - able to use those powers to restore the multiverse after it collapsed during an incursion. Well, with the being the Multiverse Saga and an inevitable cliffhanger ending coming for our MCU heroes in Avengers: Doomsday, it sounds like the movie could use one of those abilities right about now.
ONE HAND ON FRANKLIN, ONE HAND IN SUE’S HAIR… I’M GONNA PASS OUT… REED RICHARDS REED RICHAAAAAAAAAAAARDSSSS 😭😭😭😭 pic.twitter.com/BmGDzaDXKw
— irene (@pascalcoded) June 4, 2025
With all of that in mind, Franklin might just be the most important character heading into Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars and it's going to be interesting to see how the franchise plans on featuring the character - both in The Fantastic Four: First Steps and in the upcoming Avengers films. With Doctor Doom and the potential death of the multiverse upon them, the heroes of the MCU are going to need all the help they can get. Franklin might just be the answer they are looking for.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is already off to a good start as the film's first day of ticket sales was well ahead of other 2025 movies. There is a lot of anticipation for it because it's Marvel Studios' first attempt at bringing Marvel's First Family to the big screen. The foursome have enjoyed plenty of success in movies prior to that, with the classic 2005 movie and its 2007 sequel being some of the few superhero movies released in the early 2000s. There was also that infamous 2015 reboot that is widely-regarded as one of the worst superhero movies ever made. But that journey brought the heroes to the MCU.
We're ready to see what futuristic adventures they have in store for us!
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is released in movie theaters on July 25, 2025.