With the right theme music, anyone can do anything. Marvel Studios proved that when it commissioned its own fanfare, with the most recent version playing over present and upcoming Marvel movies since composer Michael Giacchino wrote it back in 2016. I say all of this, because after our recent chat pertaining to Giacchino’s work on The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ score, the world now has its first taste of the signature tune to Marvel’s first family. And to be totally honest, I really love it, as it lives up to the hype - and then some.
As Disney’s D23 expo kicks off in Anaheim, there’s going to be a lot of news and excitement released, both officially and unofficially. In that second bucket is where we’re sitting for the moment, thanks to a fan attending today’s “Music of Marvel” panel. It’s because of their efforts that we can listen to this new MCU theme, provided below:
First look /Listen : Part of the Original score Fantastic Four First steps by Michael Giacchino #d23 #marvel pic.twitter.com/AYsw2nxVw8August 9, 2024
Wow. I mean, I don’t mean to undersell it, but all of the influences that Mr. Giacchino put forth are present in there. It’s definitely a Marvel score from one of the best composers not named John Williams, and the unnamed tune starts with the sort of Main Street Electrical Parade feeling that the Spider-Man composer wanted to embody.
And then we’re led into the centerpiece of it all, which sees Tom Conti’s The Right Stuff score kicking in like a rocket. I’m sorry, did anyone else just get chills hearing “Fan-tast-ic-FOOOOOUR” sung by a choir? Also, seeing the Doctor Strange composer's name done up in the NASA font is a pretty spiffy look, if I do say so myself.
Of course, this isn’t the first time the world has heard this music; a fact that worked its way into a joke presented by Michael Giacchino himself while introducing this delightful tease. Previously the music was heard at San Diego Comic-Con, both during Marvel’s nighttime drone show and the Hall H panel that followed. So unless you got your hands on a potato cam quality clip of The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ trailer, you probably didn’t hear this clip all the way through.
Turning back to the music, it’s such a proper progression in the world of Fantastic Four scoring. As someone who still has John Ottman’s theme to the 2005 Fox film stuck in his head from time to time, I’ve had the little bits I’ve encountered of the First Steps cue recurring just as readily. Which means I'll probably spark up my Disney+ subscription and revisit that old standby for the first time in a while, in order to see how it holds up.
And now, thanks to a D23 Expo video that could get taken down at any moment, I have more of those beautiful notes to play around with in my own head. If this isn’t a future candidate for songs that make you feel like you can do anything, even if it’s just the chores, then I truly don’t know what is.
What I do know is that this is another step on the journey that brings us to the day The Fantastic Four: First Steps will arrive in our dimension, which is July 25, 2025. But for all of our sakes, let’s hope an official video of this track hits the internet sooner, rather than later. In the meantime, don't forget to check out all of the upcoming 2025 movies that will also be joining our heroes on the world's stage; because who knows what other themes and scores will be capturing our imaginations in the months to come?
