Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm don their retrofuturistic space suits in newly revealed images for The Fantastic Four: First Steps from Marvel Studios. Due to be released on July 25 of this year, marketing is ramping up for the Fantastic Four’s MCU debut. This has seen the release of the first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, as speculation begins to swirl around its story details. With the тιтular team being so popular outside the MCU, there is a lot of pressure on Marvel to get this movie right.
Now, new images released by Empire Online have revealed what the тιтular family’s space suits look like up close. These images show Marvel’s First Family in their distinguishing blue-and-white color scheme, with Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s Ben Grimm in human form. Each of the team’s outfits seems to have a touch of personal flair, while the setting exudes the retrofuturistic style with which the new MCU movie is becoming synonymous. The two images can be seen below.
What The New Fantastic Four: First Steps Images Reveal
This Could Be Moments Before The Fantastic Four Are Granted Their Powers
The new images for The Fantastic Four: First Steps seem to depict the тιтular team before embarking on the fateful spaceflight that grants them their distinctive powers. Although The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not being marketed as an origin story, the fact that the team is either preparing to visit space or perhaps aboard a space station hints that these images take place in the moments preceding their character-defining cosmic mission. The biggest hint that this is the case is the fact that Ben Grimm is in his human form rather than his rocky guise as The Thing.
While Ben Grimm has been granted the ability to revert to his human form on occasion in Marvel Comics, it is unlikely that this is what the new images are depicting. Grimm’s inability to hide his rocky features – which causes him to feel ostracized – is a character-defining feature that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will likely lean into. The first trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps seems to confirm this as Reed Richards references the “first time” they visited space before receiving their powers.
The cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps is confirmed to be returning for Avengers: Doomsday on May 1, 2026.
The images also reveal Johnny Storm handling one of four devices. Their function is unclear, but it could have something to do with their mission to visit space and perhaps study the cosmic rays that ultimately give the Fantastic Four their powers. Whatever the case, these images perfectly convey the 1960s feel that director Matt Shakman insisted in his interview with Empire Online was a focus, stating, “I really wanted it to feel like it was made in 1965, the way Stanley Kubrick would have made it.“
Our Take On The New Fantastic Four: First Steps Images
The Aesthetic Feels Like A Breath Of Fresh Air
The Fantastic Four: First Steps looks like it will feel unique within the context of the MCU. By leaning into the retrofuturistic aesthetic, these images reveal that the movie will be a touching tribute to the тιтular team’s origins, and I can’t wait to see more. It also kicks back against the otherworldly aesthetic we have come to expect from the Multiverse Saga, though I imagine the тιтular team in The Fantastic Four: First Steps will receive upgraded suits by the time they are integrated into the wider MCU.
Upcoming MCU Movies
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Thunderbolts*
- Release Date
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May 2, 2025
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The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
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Avengers: Doomsday (2026)
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Spider-Man: Brand New Day
- Release Date
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July 31, 2026
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Avengers: Secret Wars
- Release Date
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May 7, 2027
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Source: Empire Online
