2025 has been a pretty big year for Marvel so far. Your Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man positioned itself as one of the best adaptations featuring the wall-crawler, Daredevil: Born Again perfectly set up the scene for incredible things to come on its second season, and Thunderbolts* introduced The New Avengers to the big screen. However, the biggest threat is yet to come (quite literally). Fantastic Four: First Steps is just around the corner, and it will mark the debut of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. But along with iconic new heroes also comes a terrifying new villain.
Galactus is perhaps one of the most recognizable (and feared) antagonists in Marvel comic books. How could it not? The cosmic entity can increase the size of its body and eat complete planets to survive. However, the character's most iconic feature can also be its biggest undoing. It can be tricky to adapt the giant being of the big screen, as exemplified by Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Instead of having a "humanoid" form, Galactus was pictured as a big, shapeless cloud ready to consume Earth. Fans weren't eager about the change, and everyone became wary about his next cinematic appearance. Could the planet-eater really have a comic-book accurate look in a big screen adaptation?
Fortunately, the answer is a clear "yes", as evidenced by the villain's new look.
First look at Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Steps unveiled
Fans got their first (very blurry) look at Galactus in Fantastic Four: First Step thanks to official Marvel merchandising. But while the image was clear enough to give us an idea of what to expect, it didn't feature many details due to the lack of resolution. Furthermore, a first look at the Fantastic Four: First Steps Funko Pops! was unveiled, and Galactus was among the vinyl figures. The villain even strikes its iconic comic book pose in the figurine, making it clear Marvel wants to right the wrongs of its previous live-action adaptation. Now, a new image showcasing the cosmic entity in all its glory has dropped (which can be viewed here), and it's everything we could've hoped for.
All of Galactus' iconic features are there. The huge, red helmet, blue chest piece, and even the glowing blue eyes. Does it get better than this? Furthermore, during an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman revealed that he created a practical costume for actor Ralph Ineson to wear and film the villain's scenes. So any worries that unpolished CGI may distract whenever Galactus is on-screen are also quick to fade away:
"I didn't want to just use motion-capture for Galactus. I wanted to actually have someone there embodying the part."
Fans are even theorizing that we might actually see Galactus consume the Fantastic Four's Earth on the big screen, fully realizing the potential of the terrifying villain. See, the MCU's upcoming movie will take place in a parallel retro-futuristic reality that has no superheroes whatsoever, aside from Marvel's First Family. As the trailers reveal, everyone feels safe with Reed and Sue's protection. However, things will take a dark turn as the Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer arrives on Earth to let everyone know that the planet is doomed.
The post-credits scene of Thunderbolts* revealed that, somehow, the Fantastic Four will travel from their home universe to the MCU. With that in mind, it wouldn't be too far-fetched to assume that Galactus will win, and Reed will be left with no choice but to find a new home across the multiverse for him and his family to live. After all, Sue is expecting a baby, and any father would do anything to secure the future of his upcoming child.
Fantastic Four: First Steps might actually be a very dark superhero movie with a grim ending. However, it also has the chance to cement Galactus as one of the best supervillains in all of MCU history. Fortunately, things kicked off with the right foot thanks to its comic-book accurate look, and we can't wait to see how it looks in action.
Fantastic Four: First Steps will be released on Jul. 25, 2025.