The Fantastic Four: First Step’s Biggest MCU Question Won’t Even Be Answered for Over a Year

by

A major mystery surrounding the Fantastic Four’s arrival in the Marvel Cinematic Universe won’t be solved until after their initial appearance in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While Marvel’s First Family officially joined the MCU in 2025, the film confirmed a suspicion many fans had beforehand: the Fantastic Four aren’t from the main MCU Earth (Earth-616). Instead, they come from an alternate reality, Earth-828. However, Marvel has hinted that this situation won’t be permanent.

Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be playing the Fantastic Four, specifically a version of the team from another universe. They’re expected to become the main Fantastic Four within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, potentially appearing in future Avengers movies like Doomsday and Secret Wars. Some fans believe we may have already seen hints of their arrival, but the meaning of the Excelsior ship appearing at the end of Thunderbolts remains a mystery.

Thunderbolts* Brought the Fantastic Four’s Ship to Earth 616

As a huge Marvel fan, I’m really excited about how things are shaping up! Thunderbolts came out just two months before The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and it was cool seeing a team made up of reformed villains and antiheroes – Yelena Belova, Bucky Barnes, Red Guardian, Ghost, U.S. Agent, and Sentry. But here’s the twist: they’re actually going to become the New Avengers! And we’ll see them continuing their story as this new team in Avengers: Doomsday, which picks up about fourteen months after that crazy attack on New York.

The end of Thunderbolts included a scene that hinted at the next Avengers movie, which is expected in 2026. The new Avengers team was talking about a legal issue with Sam Wilson (Anthony Mackie) regarding the use of the ‘Avengers’ name when they noticed a spaceship entering Earth’s atmosphere – it was the Excelsior, belonging to the Fantastic Four. While this appearance raises many questions, fans will have to wait until Doomsday comes out on December 18, 2026, to find out more.

Fans have noticed some differences between the Excelsior spaceship in Thunderbolts and the one shown in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, leading to the idea that they might be two separate ships. The Thunderbolts version has four landing legs, while the ship in First Steps only has three. Also, the First Steps ship doesn’t seem to have the number “4” painted on its side, which is visible in Thunderbolts. This has sparked questions about who is piloting the ship in Thunderbolts, and the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps on Disney+ has brought these questions back into focus.

Who Could Have Been in the Excelsior in Thunderbolts*’ Post-Credits Scene?

Since their fight with Galactus four years ago (as seen in The Fantastic Four: First Steps), Reed Richards may have significantly improved the Excelsior, possibly even adding a new component. This upgraded ship could be what allows the team to travel between universes, meaning the Fantastic Four we see inside the Excelsior in Thunderbolts might actually be from another reality – Earth 828. However, many different theories are circulating, and any of them could dramatically change the storylines of both Avengers: Doomsday and Secret Wars.

Some fans believe the ship Excelsior in Thunderbolts might be hiding an alternate version of the Fantastic Four. It could be the team from the 2005 movies – Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Michael Chiklis, and Chris Evans (who recently played the role again in Deadpool & Wolverine) – or even the cast from the poorly-received 2015 Fantastic Four reboot featuring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell, and Michael B. Jordan. Another possibility is that it holds the surviving members of the Fantastic Four from Earth 838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, who are seeking revenge for the death of John Krasinski’s Mister Fantastic.

While many speculate the Fantastic Four will appear, the team known as Thunderbolts, specifically through their Excelsior project, might actually introduce someone else entirely – potentially even Doctor Doom. Robert Downey Jr. briefly appeared as Victor Von Doom in a post-credits scene for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, hinting at a larger role in future Avengers films like Doomsday and Secret Wars. It’s believed Doom will be trying to eliminate alternate Earths in Doomsday to prevent their destruction, and one of those targets could be our Earth (Earth 616). The recent appearance of a stolen Excelsior in Thunderbolts might have already revealed how he’s arriving. Fans are eagerly awaiting answers, and we can expect more clues to emerge before Doomsday is released next December.

What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!

https://comicbook.com/movies/news/marvel-fantastic-four-first-steps-all-characters-capable-and-talented/embed/#

Read More

2025-11-06 23:43