Is the new Fantastic Four 2025 movie worth your time and your money? Does Fantastic Four: The First Steps bring something new to the superhero genre? Read our review to know more.
After years of build-up, casting hype, and multiverse teases, Fantastic Four 2025 has finally arrived. Promoted as a bold new chapter in the MCU journey that introduces the Fantastic Four, the film introduces a brand-new team, a new Earth, and a new era for Marvel Studios. But what we actually got was something else entirely.
In this Fantastic Four 2025 review, we’ll break down the plot, answer some of the most asked questions- Who is the villain in Fantastic Four 2025? and Will Fantastic Four join the Avengers? We shall also explain whether this movie truly fits inside the Marvel Cinematic Universe or if it is something else entirely.
Story Summary – What is Fantastic Four 2025 About?
Set in an alternate universe (yes, again), Fantastic Four: The First Steps opens in a version of the 1960s that is shown to be retro-futuristic, and aesthetically vibrant. The movie follows Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as they gain powers from a scientific space mission gone wrong – and how they use it to protect and defend humanity.
While learning to become a family, things even get better when they learn that Sue is pregnant and they might be welcoming a new member in the team. Their happiness however does not last that long since they are soon forced into defending their world from an incoming cosmic threat. It’s an origin story wrapped in some multiversal buildup, with Marvel hoping this new Fantastic Four movie 2025 will set the tone for future crossovers.
Fantastic Four 2025 Review – Familiar to a Fault
Let’s be clear: Fantastic Four: The First Steps is not a terrible film. It looks polished. The acting is solid. The visual design, from the retro labs to the cosmic sequences, is undeniably slick. But despite all of this, you may find it boring.
Why? Because it’s the same old superhero routine – just in a slightly different wrapper. The emotional moments, while impactful, feel like they were lifted from a Marvel screenplay template. The structure is painfully predictable. There’s very little tension, very little surprise, and almost zero risk. It’s a Marvel Fantastic Four 2025 reboot that somehow feels like it was made on autopilot. And a script written using A.I.
We’ve seen all of this before: heroes arguing, being doubted by civilians, realizing they’re stronger together, and facing a big threat in the final act. This is safe Marvel, and safe has never been so dull.
Who is the villain in Fantastic Four: The First Steps?
The primary antagonist is Galactus. Yes, that Galactus- the planet devoring cosmic entity teased in multiple leaks. But don’t expect a rich character study or a chilling presence. This Galactus feels more like a setup than a payoff. It is grand in design, but distant and underused. You will feel as if the villain exists to move the plot forward, not to create lasting impact.
Is Fantastic Four 2025 set in the MCU?
This is where things get messy. To answer this properly, first we need to define what the MCU even is anymore. Originally, the Marvel Cinematic Universe referred to one continuity – Earth-616, which began with Iron Man and Hulk, and then Captain America, Thor, and then the rest. But with the Multiverse Saga in full swing, that definition has become… bendy.
Fantastic Four 2025 is technically set in a different universe- a separate Earth, with no direct links to the Avengers (yet). That makes it part of the MCM – the Multiverse Cinematic Multiverse (or Madness) – even if Marvel still calls it the MCU. Why? Marketing.
So yes, Marvel Fantastic Four 2025 is technically and has been advertised as part of the MCU, but not the mainline story. It’s a side-universe that may connect later- muuch like what they did with early Spider-Man movies. So while it’s branded MCU, you won’t get to see anything related to the main saga.
Why Is Silver Surfer a Woman in Fantastic Four: The First Steps?
In The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel introduces Silver Surfer as a woman, portrayed by Julia Garner, not as Norrin Radd (the classic male Surfer), but as Shalla‑Bal, who takes on the Surfer mantle in this alternate-universe storyline
Instead of gender‑swapping Norrin outright, they decide to bring a different character taking on the role of Silver Surfer. The film heavily relies on motherhood and sacrifice- Sue Storm’s pregnancy and Galactus’ interest in her unborn son Franklin parallels Shalla‑Bal’s own maternal motivations. This could be the reason Marvel felt that casting the Silver Surfer as a woman reinforces a certain emotional symmetry
Will Fantastic Four Join the Avengers?
Eventually? Most likely. But not in this film.
This Fantastic Four MCU entry feels like an isolated prologue, a setup for something bigger. There are hints multiversal rifts, and secret wars on the horizon, but Fantastic Four 2025 does not directly yet tie the team into the Avengers storyline. There’s no crossover, no cameos from existing heroes, but the post-credit teases that we shall soon see them along with Earth’s Mightiest.
Marvel might to be playing the long game. They’re laying groundwork for the Fantastic Four to step into the broader MCU, but for now, this movie keeps them on their own Earth, fighting their own battles.
Should You Watch Fantastic Four: The First Steps?
So, what is Fantastic Four: The First Steps about? It’s about Marvel cautiously rebooting one of its most iconic teams, but playing it so safe that it ends up feeling hollow. Visually appealing and conceptually interesting, yes. But emotionally flat and quite forgettable. So, unless you are a huge Marvel fan, you might not enjoy it that much. Better to skip otherwise, you might even struggle to keep your eyes on the screen.
For longtime fans, it will surely serve as a nostalgic nod to the comics. But for casual viewers or anyone craving something bold, fresh, or groundbreaking? This Fantastic Four movie 2025 just doesn’t deliver. Nope. Not at all.
Our rating: 4 out of 10.
Strong cast, stylish direction, but ultimately, a banal and clichéd film that left us detached and disinterested.
