The Fantastic 4: First Steps | All the details and theories following the trailer!

The release of the first official trailer for Fantastic Four: First Steps has set off a wave of excitement among Marvel fans. Scheduled for release on July 23, 2025, the film presents a fresh take on the first Marvel family, starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / The Invisible Woman, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / The Human Torch and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing. Directed by Matt Shakman, the film is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s universe, offering a unique blend of nostalgia and innovation, recalling the very first comics from this iconic family beloved by most fans.

The trailer is a treasure trove of details and easter-eggs that pay tribute to the Fantastic Four’s rich history, while setting the scene for their integration into the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU). Let’s find out just how much Marvel has had fun hiding in the trailer, making it a captivating preview of the film to come.

The Baxter Building – The first superhero lair

First, Sue and Reed welcome everyone to the Baxter Building in the trailer’s opening seconds. The Baxter Building first appeared in Fantastic Four #3 (1962) and is considered to be the first publicly-known comic-book superhero lair. In the comics, the Baxter Building stands on the corner of 42nd and Madison Avenue in New York City.

Family dinners – A nod to comic books

Reed mentions that they have family dinners every Sunday at 7 p.m. In the Fantastic Four comics, Reed, Sue, Johnny, Ben and others often have big dinners together, especially for Thanksgiving.

Sue Storm – Franklin Richards is coming?

On several occasions, if you look closely enough at the appearance of Sue Storm (played by Vanessa Kirby), you’ll notice that something isn’t quite right. Her appearance seems almost bizarre, and compared to the actress’ appearance off-camera, one might get the impression that Susan appears to be pregnant, but that the shots have been digitally edited to hide this detail until the film’s release. In the comics, Reed and Sue are the parents of Valeria and Franklin Richards.

Valeria Richards: She first appeared as Valeria Von Doom in Fantastic Four vol. 3 #15 (March 1999), created by Chris Claremont and Salvador Larroca. Originally from an alternate reality, she is Doctor Doom’s adopted daughter. However, she is later reintroduced as Reed and Su e’s true biological daughter in Fantastic Four vol. 3 #54 (June 2002), thanks to a reworking of the script involving Franklin Richards and the magic of Doom.

Franklin Richards: Reed and Sue’s first son, he first appeared in Fantastic Four Annual #6 (November 1968), created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He possesses some of the most powerful reality-manipulating powers in the Marvel Universe.

Franklin on the left, Valeria on the right.

We can therefore suspect that Marvel was trying to hide Susan’s possible pregnancy from us, which would herald the arrival of Franklin (and possibly Valeria in the future), in the MCU universe. However, given that the Fantastic 4 will be among the heroes present in Avengers Doomsday and Avengers Secret Wars, and that Franklin is an important character in the comics as far as Secret Wars is concerned, how can we explain his presence in both, or even all three films, without making a mess of things? A very good question, for which we’ll have to wait and see. Will we see the MCU’s biggest time jump ever, or will they simply adopt the solution of bringing in a Franklin from the Future?

The ratio change – A reminder to WandaVision?

As with WandaVision, director Matt Shakman and the Fantastic Four: First Steps team play with the aspect ratio in the trailer. You can see it change after Reed and Sue show off the Baxter Building. Will it be the same in the movie, and will we be treated to different ratios throughout? We’ll see!

H.E.R.B.I.E – A nod to the cartoon

H.E.R.B.I.E., who first appeared in the animated TV series The New Fantastic Four in 1978, watches Ben cook. He then appeared in comics for the first time in issue 209 of Fantastic Four in 1979. H.E.R.B.I.E. was created by Reed and Master Xar, who hoped the robot would help them find Galactus. H.E.R.B.I.E. made a cameo appearance in The Fantastic Four (2005), in an extended version of the film. Also, in the comics, Ben cooks on several occasions, and I love the fact that they make Ben a chef in this universe (Maybe also a reference to the character Ebon plays in The Bear, who knows?).

H.E.R.B.I.E and Ben cooking.

Table and equations – A glimpse of the Bridge of Destiny?

There’s a brief glimpse of Reed working on some kind of invention/experiment, and it seems to be the plans for a bridge of the multiverse, dubbed the Bridge of Doom in the comics. In Dark Reign: Fantastic Four Issue #1 (2009), Reed is tasked with creating the Bridge to observe parallel worlds. Similar portals can be seen in Doctor Strange and the Mad Multiverse (used by the Reed played by John Krasinski), or in Ant-Man: Quantumania (by a whole bunch of Kang).

Future Foundation – Serving humanity

Ahead of the trailer’s release, Marvel published a countdown sponsored by the Future Foundation. In the comics, the Future Foundation was created by Reed to better serve the future of humanity. We can even see that there are four circles and four lines in the logo. The colors of the lines also seem to correspond to each member of the Fantastic Four.

The spacheship – An experiment by Reed

We catch a glimpse of the spaceship the Fantastic Four are using. In the comics, it’s known as Marvel-1. It appeared in the very first issue of The Fantastic Four in 1961. Reed designed the rocket with an experimental hyperdrive.

The spaceship the Fantastic Four were in before they got their powers.

Space flight – Triggering their powers

In the trailer, Reed mentions that after their first flight, they all developed powers, such as Ben‘s ability to become a rock, Johnny‘s ability to catch fire and Sue‘s ability to become invisible. Reed has an elastic body, but the trailer doesn ‘t show his powers (why? No idea). In the comics, the Fantastic Four are bombarded by cosmic rays on their first test flight and acquire their superpowers.

Rees and Sue during the accident that caused their powers.

Kaplan – Any link to Billy? Well… No

As Ben watches an old interview with himself and Reed, we can see that the TV is on sale at “Kaplan’s.” Jeff Kaplan is one of the writers of Fantastic Four: First Steps. But could this also be a reference to Billy Kaplan, Wanda’s son, recently seen in Agatha All Along? Here too, we’ll have to wait and see the film to find out.

Johnny on fire – He also burns the camera in his path!

It’s just a nice little stylistic choice, but when Johnny first catches fire in the trailer, we can see that he seems to be highlighting dirt, fingerprints and smudges on the camera lens. This is also the case in another shot in the trailer, where he’s still using his powers.

Masks – A 60-year-old easter egg

The three children wear The Thing masks that resemble a rare model sold in 1967, while the town is under attack.

Nostalgia hello.

The Fantasticar – FINALLY we see it!

We see a blue car that appears to be called Fantasticar. This car first appeared in Fantastic Four #3 (1962). It is a flying car and the Fantastic Four’s main means of transport.

The car!!!

John Malkovich – Who the hell is he?

Although his role is still unknown, we quickly catch a glimpse of John Malkovich. According to some theories, he could be Ivan Kragoff / Red Ghost, a great villain who fought the Fantastic Four for the first time. He first appeared in Fantastic Four #13 (1963).

Who is John Malkovitch?

If you have another good theory about the character he could play, please let me know in the comments.

Galactus – The devourer of worlds is here!

One of the most striking moments in the trailer is the shadow seen over New York. This is Galactus, who first appeared in Fantastic Four #48 (1966). He is a cosmic entity – once a normal human – who now literally consumes planets to stay alive. He is one of the greatest villains of the Fantastic Four comics. The figure seen looming over the Statue of Liberty looks exactly like Galactus’s helmet in the comics.

The final scene – The Beatles, but in blue, and with powers

At the very end, we see the Fantastic Four reunited for the first time in their superhero outfits. Their design resembles that of the comics, with all-blue outfits and white gloves and boots. Finally, the stage design is also similar to the famous stage on which the Beatles performed during their first appearance on the Ed Sullivan Show in 1964.

What about you? Do you notice these details? Have you seen any others that aren’t in the article? What are your theories about the film? Hyped or not? Tell us all about it in the comments! The film is scheduled for release on July 23, 2025.