Marvel's Fantastic Four Trailer Has Everyone Saying The Same Thing

Fantastic Four, take four. Marvel has never quite been able to nail a live-action version of its first family. 2005's "Fantastic Four" and its 2007 sequel "Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer" were just okay, and the 2015 reboot bombed hard at the box office. However, with the release of the first trailer for the upcoming "The Fantastic Four: First Steps," it looks like they might finally get it right. And the response from fans has been, well, fantastic.

Directed by Matt Shakman, the film stars Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as The Thing. In the eyes of most fans, that lineup represents pitch-perfect casting choices on the part of the studio, with praise being levied at the director as well. One person wrote on X, "Matt Shakman [is] finally gonna give us a Fantastic 4 adaptation that we deserve and were begging for."

That definitely seems to be the case. The trailer showcases snippets of an emotional origin story for the Fantastic Four, a few spots of their signature humor, and, of course, a cinematic world-ending threat for the foursome to tackle. It feels like a prime entry as the Marvel Cinematic Universe steps forward into Phase 6. Here are some of the best reactions from Marvel fans online.

From the worldbuilding style to the world-ending stakes, the first trailer for "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" has fans very excited, with many getting pumped about the prospect of the cosmic villain Galactus entering the Marvel Cinematic Universe. "That small glimpse of galactus was everything to me," said one comment under the trailer on X, while another person posted a screenshot of the supervillain's horned helmet towering over the Statue of Liberty and said simply, "We're so back."

You can't get through more than a few frames of the trailer without being blown away by the Silver Age aesthetic. Set in a futuristic version of the 1960s, the trailer presents fans with a seamlessly crafted vibe of an alternate space age where classic designs and sci-fi tech collide, offering a throwback to the world imagined by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby when the first issue of "Fantastic Four" hit the shelves in 1961. One commenter on X listed all the design highlights and ended with the conclusion: "Marvel understood the assignment."

The overwhelming consensus on social media is that "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" is shaping up to be a worthy vehicle to introduce the Fantastic Four to the MCU, one that lives up to the legacy (if you're not an expert on the source material, these are the "Fantastic Four" comics you should read before seeing the reboot). However, not everybody was onboard with the studio's decisions.

For all the love fans gave the trailer, there were a few differing opinions on the way the CGI has been implemented in the film. Some fans felt a little let down by The Thing's design, while others felt like it matched Kirby's design for the character. A few others voiced their concern that Ben Grimm's voice wasn't really doing it for them. After all, The Thing is made of stone, and they felt his voice should have a little more gravel in it. Finally, a few people chimed in to voice their gripes about Galactus' size in the trailer, noting that he seems kinda small. However, others were quick to point out that he can change his size at will, so we'll have to wait for the full film to draw our conclusions.

Fans also took a few shots at the way the trailer was revealed. Marvel released the trailer after a live countdown event at the U.S. Space & Rocket Center in Huntsville, Alabama. The four main actors appeared in person at the countdown to discuss their roles and hype up the audience, but the livestream ended up being a little awkward, with the presenter stumbling over her words. "I get the feeling she had someone barking into an ear piece," one X user wrote. To make matters worse, the crowd's participation when Ebon Moss-Bachrach tried to get them all to join in for The Thing's signature catchphrase ("It's clobberin' time") was lackluster at best.

The entire presentation was peppered with awkward pauses and forced banter, but fortunately it didn't take away from the impact of the trailer itself. We're joining the fans in marking our calendars for July 25, 2025, when "The Fantastic Four: First Steps" storms into theaters.