The MCU's Fantastic Four Exist In A Universe Without Other Superheroes, Confirms Marvel's First Steps Director

By Nicolas Ayala

Published Apr 4, 2025

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Director Matt Sharkman confirms Robert Downey Jr.'s Doctor Doom crowns himself as the MCU's multiversal big bad in Avengers: Doomsday.

In an interview with Empire, The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman reveals that there are no other superheroes in the titular team's alternate universe. Whereas almost every other MCU movie and show takes place in the same continuity as the Avengers' battles, the MCU's Fantastic Four will be the only superheroes in their movie, and they'll only cross over with other MCU characters when they access to multiversal travel in Avengers: Doomsday. Read Matt Shakman's full comments below:

“We are our own universe, which is wonderful and liberating. There's really no [other] superheroes. There's no Easter eggs. There's no running into Iron Man or whatever. They're it, in this universe. I love the interconnected Marvel Universe, but we get to do something so new and so different. Eventually, this world will meet up with other worlds — but for now this is our own little corner.”

What The Fantastic Four Director's Superheroes Comments Mean

The Fantastic Four: First Steps May Be An Almost Completely Standalone Movie

Ben Grimm and Reed Richards talk in their space suits in The Fantastic Four First Steps

Unlike most MCU movies and shows, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is expected to avoid all kinds of references to other MCU characters and events, at least for the majority of its runtime. The concept of "superhero" may only be coined in the Fantastic Four's timeline once they return from their space mission. Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm are the only superpowered individuals in their universe, and they probably believe their abilities guarantee their world will be protected from all threats — until Galactus arrives, that is.

Custom image of Galactus reaching out in Marvel comics in front of his shadow looming in Fantastic Four First Steps

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Thanks to his genius-level intellect, Reed Richards might suspect there are other parallel universes out there, but access to other realities may be off the table for his family during the events of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. However, there has to be a way for the Fantastic Four to travel to the MCU's main timeline before or during the events of Avengers: Doomsday. Galactus' arrival may be the event that forces the Fantastic Four to discover the multiverse and seek refuge in a different timeline.

Our Take On The Fantastic Four Director's Superheroes Comments

The Fantastic Four's Alternate Timeline Was The Only Way To Explain Their Absence

The Fantastic Four's in-universe popularity is a key element of their comic book lore, and the opportunity to ground them in real-life 1960s fashion and style was one Marvel Studios couldn't miss. The only way to adapt the Fantastic Four accurately with a retro-futuristic style, however, was to introduce them in an alternate universe. Otherwise, it would have been impossible to avoid continuity errors and unanswerable questions about their whereabouts and the lack of FF references in previous MCU installments. Once introduced in their own timeline, The Fantastic Four: First Steps' titular team can cross over with the rest of the MCU thanks to the multiverse.

Source: Empire