The first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally gave us a look at Galactus, and I’m really hoping Marvel Studios avoids repeating a huge MCU villain mistake with the iconic planet-eater. Ralph Ineson’s casting as Galactus was first reported back in May 2024, shortly after the confirmation that Julia Garner would be appearing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps as the villain’s Herald, Shalla-Bal, the Silver Surfer. I’m very excited to see Galactus in the MCU – and not as a cosmic cloud – but I’m also nervous for Marvel Comics’ legendary Devourer.

Galactus is surely one of the most recognizable and popular antagonists in Marvel Comics’ history, so his debut in The Fantastic Four: First Steps has raised a huge amount of anticipation for the upcoming Phase 6 movie. The first teaser trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps has hinted at the threat Galactus poses to the movie’s retro-futuristic, 1960s-inspired Earth, but I hope this won’t also be the end of his story. Yorkshireman Ralph Ineson is the perfect casting choice for Galactus, and I’d love to see him have a lengthy career in the MCU.

Galactus Will Be The MCU’s Most Powerful Villain In The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Galactus Will Target Earth In The Fantastic Four: First Steps

There has been speculation that several iconic Marvel Comics villains will be appearing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, including Mole Man, Red Ghost and even Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom. However, I have no doubt after watching the movie’s first teaser trailer that Galactus will be taking center-stage as First Steps’ main antagonist, and he is certainly the most powerful and seemingly-unstoppable villain who will appear in the reboot. Galactus is a cosmic being who consumes entire planets to sustain his life force, and he has regularly targeted Earth in Marvel Comics.

It seems this story will be explored in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as Galactus’ shadow spreads across the alternate New York City, before he manipulates his size and lands on Earth, coming face-to-face with the Statue of Liberty. It seems as though Marvel Studios is setting Galactus up to destroy the Fantastic Four’s alternate world, with the team somehow making the move to the MCU’s 616-Universe, ready to appear in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars. While I think this could work, this possible story has me worried about Galactus’ future in the MCU.

I Really Hope Marvel Avoids Making Galactus A One & Done Villain

Marvel Studios’ Best Villains Follow A Nasty Trend

Many of the most powerful, notable and exciting villains in the MCU’s history have been rendered one-and-done antagonists, meaning they get killed off or defeated in the same project that they debuted. This weird trend has befallen the likes of the Red Skull, Ultron, Malekith and Justin Hammer, among others, all of whom I would have loved to have been given more substantial roles in the MCU. I really hope Marvel avoids making this mistake when debuting Galactus and the Silver Surfer in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

The prospect of Galactus devouring the Fantastic Four’s alternate Earth while the team itself moves into the MCU’s main timeline suggests that Galactus won’t move with them. This would render the epic planet-eating foe a one-and-done villain, which I would consider a mᴀssive shame. Galactus has been an ever-present threat in Marvel Comics since his first appearance in 1966’s Fantastic Four #48, so I’m desperate for him to also become a long-running threat in the MCU, and I know the best way this could happen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

How Galactus Can Be A Long-Running Threat In The MCU

I Want Galactus To Return After The Fantastic Four: First Steps

I would, of course, love to see Galactus put his Devourer of Worlds тιтle to the test in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but I think this doesn’t need to mean that he gets stuck in a reality that the Fantastic Four departs. Instead, I don’t see why Galactus couldn’t follow the Fantastic Four into the MCU’s 616-Universe, or perhaps even make the journey before they do, hoping to find many new worlds to consume in the MCU’s main continuity. This would allow Galactus to be a threat in the background of many upcoming MCU projects.

Galactus makes an appearance during Marvel Comics’ Secret Wars event in 2015 as Doctor Doom’s sentry on Battleworld, so Ralph Ineson’s new MCU villain could appear alongside Robert Downey Jr.’s Doctor Doom in Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars in Phase 6. I’m thrilled that the Fantastic Four will be sticking around in the MCU for years to come, and I reckon Galactus could be a regular character featured in the team’s inevitable sequels and future adventures. I just hope The Fantastic Four: First Steps doesn’t kill off or neglect this iconic Marvel villain.

Upcoming MCU Movies

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  Captain America: Brave New World

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  February 14, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Thunderbolts*

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  May 2, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  The Fantastic Four: First Steps

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  July 25, 2025
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Doomsday (2026)

  
  
  
  
  

  
  

  
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  Spider-Man Homecoming 4

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  July 24, 2026
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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  Avengers: Secret Wars

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  May 7, 2027
  

  
  
  
  

  
  

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