“A dysfunctional superhero family”: Pedro Pascal’s ‘Fantastic Four’ Proves Marvel Can Yet Learn From Its Past Mistakes
- 'The Fantastic Four: First Steps' aims to reboot the franchise by focusing on the complex family dynamics in the superhero team.
- The previous films didn't address this aspect, and director Matt Shakman and cast members look to give their own take to the new film.
- The movie will feature Ralph Ineson as Galactus and will probably also feature Robert Downey Jr.'s return to the MCU as Doctor Doom.
Marvel’s first family is coming back for a new adventure, and this time they are bringing a fresh perspective. The Fantastic Four: First Steps hopes to breathe new life into a franchise that has not been well received in its previous movie adaptations.
The Fantastic Four’s journey in movies has been quite rocky. The superhero group first appeared in 2005 with a sequel in 2007, and later, a reboot was made in 2015, which has struggled more than the first two installments. But Marvel Studios is ready to give it another shot.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Promises to Explore Real Family
The Fantastic Four is not just a team of superheroes, they are a family too. The previous movies missed the mark on this crucial aspect and tried to focus more on the superpowers and superhero aspects of the film rather than the complex relationships at the heart of the story.
The tone of the earlier movies was generally humorous, and it sometimes overshadowed the emotional stakes of the characters’ relationships. Individual characters also felt a bit underdeveloped, which made their inner conflicts feel superficial. Apart from Reed and Sue’s romance, the other characters were not given the required screen time to build a proper emotional connection.
The 2015 version tried to change the tone of the film by making it more gritty. However, the character origins were significantly changed in this movie, which didn’t sit well with the audience. Moreover, the studio interference and production issue played their part in failing the movie. However, First Steps director Matt Shakman is determined to change that.
Shakman is not shying away from the good and the bad that comes with the family dynamics of Pedro Pascal‘s superhero team. In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, he said,
This is married couple. This is siblings. This is best old friends. This is all the messiness that comes with real family.
Fans are quite hopeful about this new approach Shakman is taking. Netizens applauded his vision and expressed their anticipation online for the movie.
A dysfunctional superhero family..
— Thorndyke (@thorndyk3_nft) July 28, 2024
It's going to be gold, we all know it..
Even the cast is equally excited about this new direction. Ebon Moss-Bachrach, who will play Ben Grimm aka The Thing revealed in the Entertainment Weekly interview that he has not seen the previous movies and the team is trying to make their “own specific thing.”
Apart from just family dynamics, the film is set in a retro-futuristic 1960s, and it will draw inspiration from the space race era during that time. Shakman imagines the Fantastic Four team instead of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin exploring space.
The Villains of The Fantastic Four: First Steps
Although there will be the family drama, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is not overlooking the action. Ralph Ineson will be featured as the fan-favorite planet-devouring cosmic entity Galactus in the movie.
Unlike the cloud-like entity in 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, Ineson’s version will look more faithful to the comics. Fans already got a sneak peek at Comic-Con that Galactus resembles the Celestials from Eternals.
But the biggest surprise came with the announcement of Robert Downey Jr.‘s return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Doctor Doom. While it is still unclear if he will appear in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, he is being set up instead of Jonathan Majors’ Kang as the next big villain for Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.
In an interview with Collider, Shakman revealed that he had known about Downey’s return for a while and couldn’t contain his excitement.
I’m a huge fan of Robert Downey Jr., of course, and there’s no one bigger. And I have heard about it for a while, and I had to keep that secret for a while. But it’s really exciting! I kept it under wraps.
After the comments of the cast and the director, it looks like The Fantastic Four: First Steps will give a fresh take on Marvel’s first family, and fans will hope they learn from past mistakes and focus on what makes these characters special in the first place.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps is scheduled to release on July 25, 2025.
