After a quiet 2024, Marvel is gearing up for a big comeback in 2025. We already saw the release of Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man and Captain America: Brave New World, while the Devil of Hell's Kitchen is currently stealing the spotlight on the Disney Plus series Daredevil: Born Again. But for as fantastic as the first three months of the year have been, there's more yet to come. While Thunderbolts* is the next movie on the slate, all eyes are set on Fantastic Four: First Steps to forever change the status quo of the Marvel Cinematic Universe.
Marvel's First Family will finally make its big screen debut after 17 years of MCU. It's been a long way to get here, but the wait will definitely be worth it by the looks of it. The first official trailer revealed audiences will be in for a retro-futuristic adventure that will be all about the impending arrival of Galctus. And while excitement levels are through the roof to finally see the world-eater threaten an alternate version of Earth, he won't be alone. His ever-trusting herald, Silver Surfer, will also be there with him. The best part? Marvel finally released the first look of the popular Marvel character.
Disney attended CinemaCon 2025 to talk about some of its most anticipated projects of the year. The Thunderbolts* cast was in attendance to showcase new footage, Kevin Feige confirmed that the full cast of Avengers: Doomsday hasn't been revealed yet, and Fantastic Four: First Steps closed the Marvel panel with a brand new look at the movie. Unfortunately, the trailer hasn't made its way online yet (with a high probability that it will be released tomorrow, 04/04). However, we have a description to go by, and it sounds amazing.
New Fantastic Four: First Steps footage reveals first look at Silver Surfer
According to The Hollywood Reporter, The Fantastic Four: First Steps footage showcases the citizens of New York thanking the super team and paying them tribute for keeping them safe. Furthermore, The Thing discovers that Sue Storm is pregnant, which is the first official confirmation that Franklin Richards will be making his big-screen debut (even if we already knew this thanks to concept art presumed to be for Avengers: Doomsday). As per The Movie Podcast, the team will also go to a talk show and discuss how they obtained their powers while on a space mission.
Things quickly go from joyful to grim once Julia Garner's Silver Surfer makes its entrance and claims that Earth is "now left for death". It's also claimed that her character will be "fully chrome from head to toe," which is nice to know even if it was to be expected. The trailer then showcases a sizzle reel in which Herby cooks with The Thing, Galactus looms over New York City, Sue Storm says they'll fight what's coming "as a family", and Reed Richards tells the public that the Fantastic Four "will protect them". To close things out, there's a sequence of Silver Surfer riding its iconic board "through the end of the world".
While it remains unclear if the footage showcases Earth being destroyed or another planet altogether, it has been heavily theorized that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will end on a bitter note. If the superteam's homeworld is destroyed, that would explain why they end up on the MCU just in time for Avengers: Endgame. Reed will likely create an extra-dimensional portal as a last-minute effort in order to keep him and his family safe, even if it means leaving an entire world behind amidst an apocalyptic event.
Thankfully, we won't have to wait long to finally watch the movie and discover if Marvel's first family is about to endure its first big loss or not. The best part? The footage shown in CinemaCon could make its way online soon. So buckle up, because Marvel isn't holding back in what remains of 2025.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on Jul. 25, 2025.