Marvel Studios has been actively dabbling in the Multiverse for several movies and television shows, keeping audiences on their heels regarding what (or better said, who) could show up in an upcoming Marvel movie. The biggest shock might have been when Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) came across the Multiversal Illuminati in the twisty Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. The group consisted of Peggy Carter (Hayley Atwell), Captain Marvel (Lashana Lynch), CHarles Xavier (Patrick Stewart), and Reed Richards (John Krasinski) of The Fantastic Four. Well, of ONE version of The Fantastic Four. We’re going to meet another version when Matt Shakman’s movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps reaches theaters in July 2025. Just, don’t expect that team to be familiar with any other MCU superheroes.
Following Marvel Studios’ blowout presentation in Hall H at San Diego Comic Con – where they confirmed that Robert Downey Jr. was returning to the MCU, but as Doctor Doom – CinemaBlend spoke with The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman. During the chat, we asked him about the alternate universe the team resides in, which has been teased on promotional images and was shown during the panel. We have been learning about alternate Earths in various MCU projects. But when we asked Shakman if this Earth has variants of other Marvel heroes, he clarified for us:
The great thing about this is we're building a new universe where there are no other heroes. It's (just) The Fantastic Four.
It has been difficult to properly track which hero variants have crossed paths with others as the MCU lays out its intricate timeline(s). When Kang the Conqueror (Jonathan Majors) ran into Ant-Man (Paul Rudd) in the Quantum Realm, he notoriously asked if he had killed him in another existence. And then there is Deadpool (Ryan Reynolds), the fourth-wall-breaking Merc with a Mouth who decimates all rules in the latest Marvel hit Deadpool & Wolverine… though I won’t tell you how in case you made it this far without being spoiled on that movie.
Fans have been speculating on how the Fantastic Four – which consists of Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joe Quinn, and Eben Moss-Bachrach – would transition from their Earth to the Sacred Timeline, aka Earth-616. Given the way that characters have been crossing over timelines, though, there has been more than enough explanation as to how Marvel’s first family can appear in the MCU. The “why” now becomes a bigger question. Is it because Galactus devours their planet? Do they arrive in the MCU with a warning? Or will the threat of a newly announced Doctor Doom hasten the F.F. to make the leap?
Now, thanks to Matt Shakman, we know that when the Fantastic Four land on Earth-616, they won’t recognize any of the MCU heroes as variants of friends they once had, back in another universe.
