Marvel's most anticipated reboot received a lavish Hollywood welcome as The Fantastic Four: First Steps held its world premiere at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on Monday. The event showcased the studio's renewed confidence in the franchise that has undergone multiple previous film adaptations.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach – who portray the iconic superhero quartet – headlined the blue carpet festivities for the retrofuturistic film directed by three-time Emmy nominee Matt Shakman. The premiere featured elaborate installations including the team's signature Fantasticar and fans dressed as the beloved characters, while skywriting displayed the foursome's famous "4" logo above the venue.
Supporting cast members Sarah Niles, Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser and Ralph Ineson joined the celebration, according to Deadline . The guest list also included Shang-Chi and the Legend of the Ten Rings actor Simu Liu, Succession star Arian Moayed, The Persian Version performer Niousha Noor, and Deadpool & Wolverine actress Dafne Keen Fernández, alongside Yahya Abdul-Mateen II.
The premiere attracted notable attention from previous franchise veterans, with former Fantastic Four actors Doug Jones, Ioan Gruffudd and Rebecca Staab walking the carpet. The film's robotic character H.E.R.B.I.E. made a special appearance at the event, Deadline reported.
First Steps represents the fourth cinematic attempt to adapt the original comic book characters of Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm/Human Torch and Ben Grimm/The Thing for theatrical audiences. The latest iteration takes place in an alternate history parallel universe during the 1960s, creating a retrofuturistic backdrop for the superhero adventure scheduled for July 25 release.
Early critical reception has generated significant buzz, with initial reviews describing the MCU entry as "quite possibly the best Marvel Studios film ever released" featuring "immaculate" visual effects and a "pitch-perfect script," according to Deadline.
Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige addressed the decision to revive the franchise during Friday discussions with journalists, explaining the strategic thinking behind rebooting the property following Disney's 2019 acquisition of Fox, which previously controlled film rights to the Fantastic Four, X-Men and Deadpool characters.
"Why Fantastic Four? Because it's Marvel's First Family. It's in the history of our characters; they deserve to be A-listers. They were A-listers in the comics. Every crossover movie we've made in the Infinity saga, Civil War, leading to Infinity War and Endgame, which is really the Infinity saga from the comics, the Fantastic Four were huge players in those comics and obviously we couldn't do that then," Feige stated, according to Deadline.
Feige emphasized that the production serves as a "no-homework-required" movie launching Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe. His comments came amid ongoing discussions about the recently maligned superhero studio's future direction and creative strategy.
The premiere celebration underscored Marvel's investment in returning the Fantastic Four characters to their prominent comic book status within the cinematic universe, with the 1960s setting offering creative opportunities to explore the team's origins in a fresh temporal context.
