Are our eyes deceiving us, or are fans of the Fantastic Four finally about to have their patience rewarded? For as much as the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought some of the absolute nerdiest and most heightened concepts to life in live-action, comic book readers of certain other Marvel properties have had to make like that Squidward meme and watch helplessly through a window while others have enjoyed seeing their childhood dreams come true. For every Captain America or Doctor Strange stan that has seen their favorite C-list (or even D-list) superheroes turn into household names over the last 15 years, others haven’t quite been so fortunate. That appears set to change in a big way, as Kevin Feige’s highly-anticipated take on the First Family is already showing why it’s at the top of everyone’s wish list.
Yes, nostalgia remains at an all-time high for director Tim Story’s “Fantastic Four” movies from the early aughts — to the extent that “Deadpool & Wolverine” even got into the action with Chris Evans’ cameo as Johnny Storm – but it’s not exactly controversial to point out that the previous movies never made much of an effort to stay faithful to the source material. (Do we really need to rehash that Galactus cloud or, even worse, whatever the heck 2015’s “Fant4stic” reboot was trying to be?)
But perhaps those dark days are well and truly behind us. New set photos from Marvel’s currently-filming “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” have just hit the internet and, if those are anything to go by, we can at least feel confident that Ben Grimm/The Thing has never looked so good. Now, we can’t in good conscience reproduce those grainy images here without getting into trouble, but trust us when we say that they’re all over social media at this point and are certainly worth taking a quick gander. Why? Well, let’s just say Jack Kirby himself would be immensely pleased (doubly so with this photo leak happening on his birthday).
Marvel’s The Thing might not be fully CGI after all
What’s the opposite of a famous public figure spinning in their grave? Whatever that is, one would imagine that applies to Jack Kirby right about now. The famed comic book artist all but defined the look of the fan-favorite Stan Lee character, imagining a hulking rock-man with orange-toned “skin,” deeply protruding brows, and a serious penchant for doing some clobberin’. Compared to the all-CGI version from the 2015 film (portrayed by Jamie Bell) or even the practical approach of simply putting actor Michael Chiklis under mountains of makeup and prosthetics in the two Tim Story films, the MCU’s “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” might have just made Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the character the one to beat.
I mean, talk about being pulled right out from the comics themselves. Although opinions seem split on the exact uniform and its mix of white and blue, none can criticize the use of an actual version of The Thing (one that looks quite tall and certainly gives a sense of the character’s physicality). Granted, the MCU has made it into something of a tradition to film certain characters and their outfits in one way while on set … only to completely revamp those designs during each film’s lengthy post-production timeline. That goes double for a character like Ben Grimm, who’ll undoubtedly involve some VFX touchups and possibly even some motion-capture work along the way. It’s also worth noting that this might very well be a simple stand-in for the real thing, making way for something similar to Josh Brolin’s appearance as Thanos while filming “Avengers: Infinity War” and “Avengers: Endgame.”
Still, if nothing else, this is an encouraging sign that director Matt Shakman and Kevin Feige have the right approach in mind — one that’s taking its cues from the classic, old-school designs. “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson, and more, and is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.