I'm convinced the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps isn't confirmed yet, there are already plenty of exciting figures teased for the story.
One of the most exciting impending characters about to debut in the MCU movie is that of Galactus, a cosmic being whose almost 60-year-long comic history has led to a vast range of comic material for the MCU to draw from when adapting the imposing figure. As one of the biggest and most lethal characters in Marvel's roster, Galactus appearing to have the Fantastic Four's Earth in his targets within the story of The Fantastic Four: First Steps certainly doesn't bode well for the team - but it does look like it'll help the story and debut of one of the group's most intensely powerful .
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Facing Off Against Galactus In Their Movie Debut Pits Them Against One Of Marvel's Most Powerful Antagonists
While Marvel's comics have no shortage of powerful antagonists or villains - and have plenty of villains whose powers can justifiably be boosted in order to make them a more imposing force for the course of a movie or two's story - it's also fair to say that Galactus has historically been set up as one of the more powerful figures Marvel's heroes have had to face. Part of this is naturally tied to his motives, as having a planet-devouring cosmic conqueror be anything but extremely powerful would be not only confusing, but also something of a letdown.
Galactus first appeared in Marvel's Fantastic Four #48, which was released in March 1966, and depicted Galactus as a considerable threat as far back as his comic debut.
Though the specifics of Galactus' precise power level and abilities can vary between comic runs and lines - and often how much energy he's absorbed over the course of whatever specific storyline he appears in - Marvel is consistent about showing him as possessing abilities almost beyond comprehension. This is both in of their potency, and the broad range of ways these powers can be manifested, even if there is a preference for showing Galactus creating dramatic energy blasts to destroy things and demontrating his terrifying physical strength.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps appears set to adapt the full extent of Galactus' powers into the MCU, with the glimpses of the character shown in the movie's trailers suggesting he will be depicted as essentially a harrowing force of nature who's every bit as capable of destroying an entire planet single-handedly as he is in the original source material. While this is interesting all by itself, it's also noteworthy in of potentially helping make the debut of one other major character in the MCU movie smoother too.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Introducing Franklin Richards' Powers Seems Way Easier After Galactus' MCU Debut
The Fantastic Four: First Steps initially teased the prospect of Franklin Richards - Sue Storm and Reed Richards' firstborn child - by revealing that Sue is pregnant in the events of the film, suggesting Franklin would appear either in this chapter of the team's story or perhaps in Avengers: Doomsday. Interestingly enough, The Fantastic Four: First Steps' most recent trailer confirms that the couple's child will indeed be born during the debut movie itself, as is revealed via a shot of Sue and Reed lying down by either side of their baby.
With this in mind, it seems likely that - short of a major plot twist wherein the MCU switches the order of Franklin and Valeria's births around or pulls some other trick - The Fantastic Four: First Steps will begin teasing or actively manifesting Franklin's powers. Franklin's powers make him arguably one of Marvel's most powerful heroes himself, even at a young age, with his ability to warp reality to his whim being one of the most strikingly useful and intense abilities in his arsenal.
Franklin's power level and the nature of his specific abilities make him so deeply powerful that adapting him into the MCU is likely not a straightforward affair, as it'd be easy for his intense powers to come off as either jarring or cartoonish when manifested by a toddler or baby. However, with the backdrop of Galactus' own immense cosmic skillset looking like a focal element of The Fantastic Four: First Steps' story, Franklin's own abilities will look far less outlandish by comparison than they would have had the team simply been fighting the likes of Mole Man in the film's story.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Arguably Needs Galactus To Make Franklin Not Seem Overpowered For The MCU
With Marvel having such a rich and extensive history to draw from, there wasn't exactly a shortage of antagonists that The Fantastic Four: First Steps could have used for its story, making the decision to kick off with Galactus even more interesting. Though it could be said that introducing figures like Annihilus or The Maker would have been far more complex for the team's debut movie story - whereas Galactus is more well-known in pop culture and can be conveyed with less backstory - there's also something to be said for how Galactus' powers and power level help Franklin not look too overpowered in the franchise.
Figures like Dormammu and Eternity have already conveyed the idea of beings whose very nature transcend conventional reality as we would know it, but Galactus serves as a direct reminder of how Marvel's mythos pushes the boundaries of the world within The Fantastic Four: First Steps itself. With an antagonist who consumes planets and is borderline omnipotent in play, any signs of Franklin's own massive powers appear more tempered when compared to the vast abilities of Galactus himself, looking as though they could help balance proverbial scales against some more otherworldly foes.
Even if The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn't demonstrate Franklin's powers just yet, having him first appear in a movie wherein a whole planet is threatened by a cosmic being who sustains themselves on the energy of entire worlds certainly helps it feel less like Franklin himself is overpowered for the MCU. This hopefully should let it appear more as though his powers make sense given the context of the lore directly around him, since he and his family aren't exactly up just against street-level threats, and face one of Marvel's most imposing foes from their movie debut.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
- July 25, 2025
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Director
- Matt Shakman
- Writers
- Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Stan Lee
- Producers
- Jamie Christopher, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Tim Lewis
Cast
Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
Vanessa KirbySue Storm / The Invisible Woman
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
Ebon Moss-BachrachBen Grimm / The Thing
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
