Fantastic Four Reboot Proves Worth the Wait

Release Date：Jul/25/2025

Genre：Space Sci-Fi/Superhero/Action/Adventure/Sci-Fi

Director：Matt Shakman

Cast：Pedro Pascal、Vanessa Kirby、Ebon Moss-Bachrach、Joseph Quinn、Ralph Ineson

Viola's Rating：8.0

After 10 feature films of unstable quality, Marvel has finally made its comeback with Thunderbolts* and Fantastic Four: First Steps. Released in the US on July 25, 2025, this reboot of Marvel’s First Family stands as the best Fantastic Four film ever made.

While balancing their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, the Fantastic Four must defend Earth from the ravenous space god Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, the Silver Surfer.

Instead of retelling the origin story that has already been shown countless times on the big screen, Fantastic Four: First Steps focuses on Sue Storm’s new role as a mom. What the flick presents isn’t a cliché mother-child relationship, but rather something greater than oneself, something every mother would choose to do.

Beyond Sue’s motherhood, First Steps also introduces new, unfamiliar elements. The Silver Surfer seen in the trailer isn’t the familiar Norrin Radd, but a mysterious woman. And although the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) has already opened the portal to the multiverse, this installment doesn’t reveal how it might connect to other characters, since the Fantastic Four’s home reality is Earth-828 instead of the Earth-616 we know best.

Even so, setting the story in a futuristic version of the 1960s gives Fantastic Four: First Steps a nostalgic atmosphere. From the opening titles to the appliances and furniture in the First Family’s tower, and from the Pan Am building to The Ted Gilbert Show, every detail brings us back to another era.

What makes Fantastic Four: First Steps especially refreshing is that it works as a stand-alone. Even non-Marvel fans can enjoy it. There’s no need to worry about having seen 36 previous trailers, and characters are introduced and portrayed as their alter egos, almost like ordinary people. Audiences are simply peeking into a family’s daily life while watching them confront a massive crisis that could affect the entire world.

While some critics have accused Marvel of leaning too heavily into political correctness, the real issue has always been the lack of compelling storytelling. In fact, as far back as the 1990s, X-Men: The Animated Series was already promoting diversity and inclusion. The difference was that it also told great stories.

In Fantastic Four: First Steps, the unity our world desperately needs right now is depicted with natural ease and thoughtful nuance, providing genuine food for thought. A simple world like the one we see in this motion picture is exactly what Marvel needs now. And as the first picture of the MCU’s Phase Six, it may not be astonishingly great, but it is fantastically good.

Picture Credit: IMDb