2025 is a big year for Marvel across all media, but no project is more important or more eagerly anticipated than The Fantastic Four: First Steps. This movie not only kicks off Phase 6 of the MCU, it’s also the one that finally introduces Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and his superhero family. With any luck, our decades-long wait for a truly great Fantastic Four movie is almost over.
Things are certainly shaping up well based on the newly released teaser trailer for First Steps. We get a much closer look at the main foursome, as well as our first glimpse of antagonists like Ralph Ineson’s Galactus and John Malkovich’s mystery character. But for many fans, there’s only one question on their minds – where in the world is Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom? Let’s break down what we do and don’t see in this new trailer.
Where Is Robert Downey, Jr.’s Doctor Doom?
Marvel really turned heads at last year’s San Diego Comic-Con with the reveal that The Avengers 5 has been renamed The Avengers: Doomsday and that Doctor Doom himself is being played by none other than Robert Downey, Jr. Despite the wealth of history between Doom and Iron Man in the comics, it was a bizarre and unexpected announcement. And, naturally, fans are wondering what role the Fantastic Four movie has in setting up Doom as the next great Avengers-level threat.
Unsurprisingly, Marvel Studios is playing things pretty close to the vest. The teaser doesn’t give any overt hints as to Doom’s presence. If anything, it reinforces how different an approach First Steps is taking from its predecessors. Julian McMahon’s Doom was a major villain in both 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Toby Kebbell’s Doom, meanwhile, was an integral part of the 2015 reboot. But this time around, Marvel Studios is downplaying Doom in favor of focusing on Galactus, Silver Surfer, and… John Malkovich? More on him in a bit.
We have to assume First Steps will ultimately play some role in establishing Doom. After all, he’s a Fantastic Four villain, first and foremost. Plus, this is one of the last MCU movies hitting before Avengers: Doomsday drops in May 2026. Surely they have to do something to tease the next great Avengers villain, right?
The main question we hope First Steps will answer is from what universe Downey’s Doom hails. He’s clearly not from Earth-616, given the casting choice. But is Doom also from The Fantastic Four: First Steps universe? Is this a world where Tony Stark’s life took a very different and much darker turn? Or is he from another world entirely? Even if Doom only appears in a post-credits scene, we’re hoping First Steps can establish who this character is and why he’s targeting the MCU’s Avengers.
But whatever role Doom winds up having in First Steps, be it as a supporting villain or a quick cameo, he won’t be the star of the show. For now, the Fantastic Four have much bigger problems to deal with. Literally.
The Fantastic Four vs. Galactus
The teaser makes it plain which villain will be occupying most of the Fantastic Four’s time in this movie. They’re going to be facing off against Galactus, the self-proclaimed Devourer of Worlds. Galactus is voiced by Game of Thrones’ Ralph Ineson.
Galactus is one of many classic Marvel characters created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby. He originally debuted in 1966’s Fantastic Four #48, kicking off the so-called “Galactus Trilogy.” In that storyline, Galactus and his herald, the Silver Surfer, arrive to consume the planet, forcing the Fantastic Four to resort to desperate measures to stave off their larger than life opponent.
Subsequent Marvel stories have better fleshed out Galactus’ past and his role in the cosmic Marvel hierarchy. He was once a mortal man known as Galan of Taa. As one of the few survivors of the previous. pre-Big Bang incarnation of the Marvel Universe, Galan bonded with an energy known as the Sentience of the Universe and evolved to become Galactus. Ever since, he’s traveled the cosmos, searching for life-rich worlds to slake his insatiable hunger.
Galactus isn’t so much a supervillain as he is a being serving a necessary cosmic function. His act of devouring worlds plays into the larger cycle of death and rebirth in the Marvel Universe. That fact is cold comfort for anyone living on a planet targeted by Galactus, though.
First Steps definitely seems to be drawing inspiration from the classic Galactus Trilogy. The movie is clearly presenting a version of the FF who are well-established and have an adoring fanbase. Now they face their greatest challenge to date in the form of a cosmic devourer looking to consume their world.
The question is to what lengths Reed and his family will go to save earth from destruction. In the comics, Reed threatens Galactus with the Ultimate Nullifier, a handheld weapon with the power to destroy and remake the multiverse itself. Will we see the Ultimate Nullifier in the film, and does it somehow play into the larger conflict of the Multiverse Saga and the phenomenon of Incursions?
One thing that is clear is that First Steps is taking a more comic book-inspired approach to Galactus than we saw in Rise of the Silver Surfer. That film depicted Galactus as a hurricane-like cloud, whereas here we can see Galactus in humanoid form towering over the Statue of Liberty. Expect him to be more of an actual character this time rather than simply a force of nature, hence the decision to cast Ineson.
We may see a couple shots of Galactus in the teaser, but we don’t see his herald. Julia Garner has been cast as Silver Surfer in the movie. Silver Surfer also debuted in Fantastic Four #48, which introduced him as a scout seeking out new planets for his master to feed on. Over the course of the story, though, Silver Surfer takes pity on Earth and joins the FF in defying Galactus. That paved the way for Silver Surfer to become a regular hero in the Marvel Universe, eventually spinning out into his own solo comic book series.
Though First Steps is opting for a gender-swapped version of Silver Surfer, we assume the basics will remain the same. Silver Surfer will start out as Galactus’ herald, but encountering Earth will awaken memories of her mortal life on Zenn-La, causing her to rebel against her master. Basically, expect a similar character arc as we saw with Laurence Fishburne’s Silver Surfer in the 2007 movie.
Who Is John Malkovich Playing?
Galactus and Silver Surfer appear to be the main antagonists of the film, but they probably won’t be the only ones. The teaser includes a brief shot of a bearded John Malkovich, leading to a very important question – what character is Malkovich playing?
One current rumor suggests Malkovich has been cast as Ivan Kragoff, a villain better known as The Red Ghost. In the comics, Kragoff is a Soviet scientist who recreates the fateful space flight that gave the Fantastic Four their powers. Only in this case, his crew consists of three apes - a gorilla named Mikhlo, a baboon named Igor, and an orangutan named Peotr. After successfully gaining powers, Kragoff and his apes formed a team called Red Ghost and the Super-Apes. Hey, it was the ‘60s.
Given Malkovich’s track record of playing Russian characters, we wouldn’t be at all surprised if he’s been cast as Red Ghost. The question is how much the movie will lean into the character’s campy origins and if he’ll actually be joined by a trio of super-powered apes.
Another possibility is that Malkovich is playing Mole Man, another iconic FF villain rumored to appear in First Steps. Shunned by humanity due to his odd appearance and obnoxious personality, Mole Man has crowned himself king of the underground race known as the Moloids and is obsessed with taking over the surface world. Malkovich’s character definitely looks like he’s spent some time living in a cave.
Either way, we suspect Malkovich is playing a secondary villain who will butt heads with the FF early on in the film. The team is clearly well established by this point, so it makes sense that they’d have a rogues’ gallery of their own.
Let’s also not forget that Malkovich is one of several actors whose role remains unconfirmed right now. The film also stars Natasha Lyonne, Sarah Niles, and Paul Walter Houser. If you have any theories as to which Marvel characters they’re playing, definitely let us know in the comments.
Meet the Fantastic Four
While we get a few glimpses of Galactus, the teaser mostly showcases the Fantastic Four themselves. We see plenty of the FF here, including Pedro Pascal’s brilliant scientist//family patriarch Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby’s intrepid Susan Storm, Joseph Quinn’s hotheaded Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bacharach’s stubborn Ben Grimm. We even catch a glimpse of the family’s helper robot, H.E.R.B.I.E.
Family really is the key word here. The teaser emphasizes how the Fantastic Four are as much a family unit as a superhero team, with all the love and dysfunction that comes with it. If the teaser is any indication, the film will focus a lot on Ben’s struggle to come to terms with his monstrous condition, as well as Reed’s guilt over causing that condition in the first place.
The trailer suggests that the film takes place in a time when the FF are well-established and have become celebrity heroes, rather than serving as an origin story a la the 2005 and 2015 films. That said, we do see a couple shots that flash back to the origins of the team. We see a pre-Thing Ben Grimm in some archival news footage, as well as what appears to be the aftermath of the accident that gave the team their powers. So expect some flashbacks to the origins of the Fantastic Four, even if this isn’t an origin story.
We can also see that the costumes in First Steps are quite a bit different from previous FF movies. The blue and white color scheme alone is a major change, seemingly paying homage to John Byrne’s classic Fantastic Four comics of the ’80s. The suits play into the idea that these are scientists and adventurers more so than traditional superheroes. They aren’t wearing form-fitting spandex or battle armor, but functional Space Age uniforms that reflect each character’s personality.
It’s also worth mentioning that, while we don’t see much of it in the teaser itself, a lot of Marvel’s marketing for the film has revolved around the Future Foundation. In the comics, the Future Foundation is established by Reed as a way of nurturing the next generation of super-geniuses in the Marvel Universe. That raises the question of whether we’ll see any younger heroes in the film, including Reed and Sue’s own children, Franklin and Valeria. The “First Steps” title does hint that the movie will deal with parenthood and the struggles of raising children.
At the very least, there’s a good chance we’ll see young Franklin Richards in the film. And given his status as one of the most powerful superhumans in the Marvel Universe, we have to wonder if he has something to do with why Galactus is targeting Earth. We’ll find out when Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.
Do you think Downey’s Doctor Doom will appear in the movie? Cast your vote in our poll Let us know your theories in the comments below.
For more on the future of the Marvel Universe, find out what to expect from Marvel in 2025 and see every Marvel movie and series in development.
Jesse is a mild-mannered staff writer for IGN. Allow him to lend a machete to your intellectual thicket by following @jschedeen on BlueSky.
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