Marvel Studios’ First ‘Fantastic Four’ Trailer Is Chock-Full of Easter Eggs!

Marvel has released the first trailer for the upcoming highly anticipated film, Fantastic Four: First Steps. 

The Fantastic Four, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby in 1961, launched the so-called “Marvel Age of Comics” and introduced many of the tropes that would come to define the companies characters, which in turn would shape Marvel’s cinematic output that has come to dominate the box office over the last 25 years. However, the FF (as fans affectionally refer to them) have had bad cinematic luck, to put it mildly. A 1994 film from Roger Corman was so bad it was never officially released, two mid-2000s films were relatively successful at the box office but critically maligned, and the less said about the disastrous 2015 reboot, the better. However, following the 2019 purchase of Fox, Disney regained the rights to the characters, leaving fans excited as to how Kevin Feige and co. could brighten the quartet into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). They got their first taste of the approach when the film’s cast – – Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Ebon Moss-Barach as Ben Grimm/The Thing — and 1960s aesthetic were revealed 2024, and now we have the trailer…

The first trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps was released in early February of 2025, approximately five months before the film’s scheduled July 25th release.

The clip continues the retro-1960s aesthetic established in the early promotional art, leading many to believe it will be set on an alternate Earth in the MCU multiverse. The clip delves into the quartet’s backstory, their celebrity — there’s even an image that has them standing on the same stage that The Beatles did when they played The Ed Sullivan Show in 1964 – -, displays some of their powers, and offers glimpses of John Malkovich in an as-yet-unconfirmed role (heavily rumored to be early Fantastic Four villain The Red Ghost) and the planet-devouring Galactus towering over New York City. In addition, the trailer features several noticeable easter eggs for longtime fans, including the design and layout of the group’s Baxter Building headquarters and an appearance from the team’s robot butler H.E.R.B.I.E.

Notably absent from the trailer are Julia Garner, who is portraying Galactus’s herald-turned-cosmic-superhero Silver Surfer, and Robert Downey Jr.’s Victor Von Doom AKA Doctor Doom. While the latter was officially announced to great fanfare as appearing in the next two Avengers films, many presume that he will appear in Fantastic Four: First Steps given the fact that Doom is the group’s primary antagonist, and the presumed multiversal nature of form Iron Man actor Downey portraying him.

Speaking of the multiverse, the trailer doesn’t offer any hint of how the FF will be making their way over to the sacred timeline of the MCU to appear in the next two Avengers films, though we have our theories.

Along with the trailer, Marvel also released a new piece of promotional artwork that seemed to include a nod to the character Phil Sheldon, a photographer, and protagonist of the groundbreaking MARVELS mini-series, which took a “man on the street” approach to some of the publisher’s most famous stories, including the early adventures of the Fantastic Four. It’s unclear if the character still actually has a role in the film, or if this was just an easter egg for longtime fans.

We have liftoff.

Marvel Studios' #TheFantasticFour: First Steps lands in theaters July 25. pic.twitter.com/hJ98F6PHEj

— Marvel Studios (@MarvelStudios) February 4, 2025

The film’s official synopsis reads, “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.”

The first trailer for the Fantastic Four: First Steps has debuted, giving us our first detailed look at the quartet as they prepare to enter the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Stay tuned to AllEars for more on the film!

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