Fantastic Four Director Explains How The Russo Brothers Were Involved In First Steps

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Title currently playing: The Fantastic Four – First Steps

This movie is now scheduled for release in 2025, six years following Marvel Studios acquiring the rights to the superhero team due to the Disney/Fox merger. Matt Shakman from WandaVision has been tapped as director for this fifth film featuring Marvel’s First Family (considering the 1994 feature yet to be released). However, it is not just Shakman who is involved in production; other MCU directors have shown interest too. Recently, Joe and Anthony Russo expressed their enthusiasm for Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Thing, and Human Torch’s latest big-screen adventure.

Since 2014, when the Russo Brothers brought us “Captain America: The Winter Soldier,” they’ve been an integral part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU), also directing “Captain America: Civil War,” “Avengers: Infinity War,” and “Avengers: Endgame.” Last year at San Diego Comic-Con, it was revealed that they would be back to oversee “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars.” However, regarding their involvement with the upcoming “The Fantastic Four: First Steps,” director Shakman shared his thoughts on Deadline:

[Shakman’s quote about the Russo Brothers during filming of The Fantastic Four]

They showed great interest in our work, they visited our production sites, watched as we edited scenes, sought to understand the people behind the story and script, all to ensure a smooth handover of these characters, ensuring they would continue to be nurtured effectively.

The filming for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” commenced on July 30, 2024. This was a week after the Russo Brothers’ return to the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the announcement that Robert Downey Jr. would reprise his role as Doctor Doom, the team’s main adversary. Given that Doctor Doom will replace Jonathan Majors’ Kang The Conqueror as the primary antagonist in “Doomsday” and “Secret Wars,” and the subsequent confirmation that the Fantastic Four will appear in both movies, it’s not surprising that Joe and Anthony Russo were eager to work on “First Steps.

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To put it simply, director Matt Shakman emphasized that they needed to fully understand and develop Pedro Pascal’s, Vanessa Kirby’s, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s, and Joseph Quinn’s characters before taking them over for future Avengers films. However, I won’t disclose any spoilers from the recently released movie First Steps, as its events set the stage for Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm to join forces with the Avengers, New Avengers, X-Men, and others. This connection was hinted at in May through the post-credits scene of Thunderbolts, where a ship bearing the Fantastic Four logo made an appearance.

*Note: It seems there might be a misunderstanding here as Thunderbolts is not a movie but a Marvel Comics team. If it’s meant to be a different property, please clarify for accurate information.

We’ll observe how the Fantastic Four perform under the Russo Brothers’ guidance when the film “Avengers: Doomsday” premieres on December 18, 2026. Following that, “Avengers: Secret Wars” will be released on December 17, 2027. However, before those films, the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie to hit the screens is “Spider-Man: Brand New Day,” scheduled for July 31, 2026.

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2025-07-25 23:37