The MCU just gave The Thing his first design change before we’ve even see The Fantastic Four: First Steps itself. The decision to feature the Fantastic Four 17 years into the MCU is deeply exciting and a little daunting, especially since the team’s movie history is a complicated at best. However, the teases of the upcoming MCU movie certainly make it look interesting.

Thus far, The Fantastic Four: First Steps‘ story has already provided glimpses at two of Marvel’s most powerful characters – Galactus and Franklin Richards – and promised a story seemingly almost entirely told in another universe. Recent glimpses of the film have also teased a bizarrely fascinating design change for one of the team, too.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ New Trailer Has Already Teased How The Thing’s Design Changes In The MCU Movie

The newest trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps provides a lot of new reveals about the MCU movie and its story – including further fascinating teases about how Galactus comes to face off against the Marvel heroes. However, some smaller details also stand out in the trailer alongside this.

Perhaps the most notable smaller detail in the trailer is that one scene changes up The Thing’s appearance in a striking way. When the Human Torch is shown carrying The Thing, Ben Grimm appears to have a somehow grown a rocky beard and moustache combo – and one that appears to feature a considerably long rock-beard, too.

While it’s not unheard of for The Thing’s design to get changed up, the fact this reveal comes before we’ve had the chance to watch Ben Grimm’s MCU movie debut does make it all the more striking. That said, it’s likely this detail won’t be a permanent one, since the rest of the trailers depict a beardless Grimm.

Interestingly, it seems this beard may draw from 2012’s Fantastic Four #605, wherein Ben Grimm also gets a version of his design that includes a rocky beard when the story jumps into the future. It doesn’t seem like such dramatic explanations will be behind The Thing’s MCU beard, but it’s also impossible to discount the idea this early in the proverbial game.

Why The MCU Giving The Thing A Beard Is So Notable

Giving almost any other MCU character a beard wouldn’t be as noteworthy as The Thing’s, since the idea of a character made of rock forming a beard is a naturally surreal one. This also raises a lot of questions about how Ben is able to grow said beard in the first place, since it doesn’t seem a straightforward matter.

It’s entirely possible that Ben is able to simply will a rock protrusion that looks like a beard into existence, but this would create other question marks around to what degree the MCU character can change his form. Inversely, the beard and moustache combo growing naturally would also raise more questions than it answers about how Grimm’s transformed body works.

The fact this may also tie in to the comics and 2012’s time travel story also makes this detail all the more interesting, as it wouldn’t be totally unlike the MCU for this moment to actually tease a more significant plot change. That said, given there don’t seem to be other signs of this avenue being a reality, which makes it harder to put stock in.

The Rest Of The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Trailers Makes The Thing’s Beard Even Weirder

The brief glimpse we get of a bearded Ben Grimm is even more interesting in that other teasers haven’t exactly gone out of their way to show this different design outside of this moment. This is what made the moment in the new trailer so eye-catching, especially since it’s not like we’ve had a shortage of prior glimpses at the film.

While it’s possible this is just because the trailers have only drawn from specific parts of the film, it certainly currently suggests this isn’t a long-lasting part of the upcoming MCU story. However, this arguably makes the design decision more interesting in some ways.

If this is a brief change, the question then becomes exactly how Ben Grimm is able to seemingly grow a beard for what looks as though it may be a very short period of the film’s story. Indeed, this makes the idea an even more bizarre one, as it’s hard to imagine what could explain this in a short-term scenario.

Though the explanation that we are seeing a future Ben Grimm isn’t impossible, it’s one that seems less teneble than a short-term answer. Franklin Richards’ powers could be used to justify this kind of story moment, with him perhaps coming back in time for his family, but this would arguably sabotage any tension, making a simpler explanation for Grimm’s beard seem more likely.

I’m So Interested To See How Long The Thing’s Beard Is In The MCU’s Story

The MCU has long been a fan of making changes to the designs of their heroes. Be it changes from the original comic designs, or otherwise changes to suits over the course of a hero’s MCU story, there’s a wealth of examples to point to when it comes to the franchise’s propensity for switching pre-existing suits and designs up.

As such, seeing how the MCU brings this habit into effect on heroes as beloved and well-established as the Fantastic Four should prove fascinating. This has already begun to raise its head with the team’s suits, but the matter of The Thing’s rock flesh growing a beard-like extension is definitely a more unique example of this kind of matter.

Similarly, the fact this seems another example of the MCU’s playful but relatively comic-accurate approach to the Fantastic Four makes this part of the film look all the more interesting. There’s definitely a lot of pressure on the franchise to get the team right, and it not being afraid to make unusual swings like this speaks to a confidence that bodes well for the larger story.

In a franchise that is growing increasingly grand and wide-reaching thanks to the Multiverse Saga, the decision to include little details like Ben Grimm somehow growing a rocky beard can feel all the more special. Hopefully, this unusual design change choice will have an interesting explanation in the MCU movie, since it’s aleady proved a fascinating topic for fans.