The Fantastic Four: First Steps is Marvel’s third and final MCU film of 2025, hitting theaters this July. While I’m excited to see the MCU get its own First Family, I’m very interested to find out how Marvel will frame everything. After all, the Earth-616 reality at the center of the Infinity and Multiverse Sagas doesn’t have an original Fantastic Four team of its own.
Marvel didn’t have the rights to the characters until Disney bought Fox. The acquisition happened after the Infinity Saga concluded, at which point we got confirmation that an MCU-centric Fantastic Four reboot was happening.
The Fantastic Four team in First Steps will become the MCU’s primary First Family despite coming from a different reality. That’s not a spoiler. These Fantastic Four will show up in Avengers: Doomsday and Avengers: Secret Wars. Also, Marvel made it very clear with teasers and trailers that the four superheroes reside in a parallel universe.
This brings me to a brand-new plot leak for The Fantastic Four that makes me want to watch the movie even more. Before I tell you what it is, I’ll warn you that spoilers might follow.
Marvel’s decision to not retroactively fit a Fantastic Four team into the MCU or introduce a modern-day, post-Endgame one is for the best. I wouldn’t have wanted Marvel to defy common sense with either scenario. The multiverse approach works best, providing plenty of mystery. Why will this First Family become the MCU’s main Fantastic Four? What qualifies them to help the main Avengers against Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.)? Are they among the best Fantastic Fours, or were they at the right place at the right time?
Think about what we saw in the trailers so far. These Fantastic Four are in a different reality, yes. But they’re not well-established superheroes like Fox’s Fantastic Four teams. They’re novices at the superhero life. They’re about to embark on an exploratory mission, which might lead to them becoming superheroes.
I’m just speculating here, but my point is that these Fantastic Four do not appear to be equipped to handle any villain, let alone multiversal threats like Doctor Doom. Yet this is the team that will help the Avengers in the future.
There’s plenty of time for these four to get their powers, learn how to use them, and work as a team. And who knows how much time will pass until this reality’s Fantastic Four will meet the Avengers in Earth-616.
But this is where the exciting plot spoiler comes in. Redditors say leaker MyTimeToShineHello revealed in what must be a protected tweet that The Fantastic Four will disband after the birth of Franklin Richards. They’ll get back together once the Silver Surfer reaches Earth to warn them about Galactus.
So think about it: an inexperienced team of superheroes splits up for parental duties before being forced back into action by the imminent arrival of a massive, potentially world-ending threat. These guys will then be called upon to fight Doom. I’m even more curious to see the order of events and how the Fantastic Four earned their place in the larger team of multiversal superheroes.
It’s unclear how early in the movie, the team splits up. Considering Galactus is the main villain, it must happen early. It’s unclear whether the four heroes will have powers when they decide to disband or how much experience they’d have under their belts by then. Also, the reveal that Franklin Richards will be in the picture is exciting.
On the other hand, it’s not even clear if the plot leak is accurate, and that’s because we haven’t had that many plot leaks about the reboot. So far, of all the Multiverse Saga movies, only Deadpool & Wolverine managed to surprise me. All the MCU flicks that preceded it leaked in great detail. I can only hope the plot of Fantastic Four: First Steps will remain secret for as long as possible.
But like I said before, the premise of an inexperienced Fantastic Four team becoming a key part of the larger Avengers team is definitely exciting. Then again, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showed us how useless a super-experienced Mr. Fantastic (John Krasinski) could be in certain scenarios.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps premieres on July 25th, and I’ll catch it in cinemas as soon as it’s released.
