Are our eyes deceiving us or are Fantastic Four fans finally being rewarded for their patience? Although the Marvel Cinematic Universe has brought some of the nerdiest and most over-the-top concepts to life in live action, comic book readers are, in a sense, other Marvel properties were left to act like that Squidward meme, watching helplessly through a window while others reveled in their childhood dreams coming true. For every Captain America or Doctor Strange fan who has seen their favorite C-list (or even D-list) superheroes become household names over the past 15 years, there have been others who haven’t been quite so lucky. That seems to be changing in a big way, as Kevin Feige’s highly anticipated take on the First Family is already showing why they’re at the top of everyone’s wishlist.
Yes, nostalgia for director Tim Story’s early 2000s Fantastic Four films remains strong – to the extent that Deadpool & Wolverine even got in on the action itself with Chris Evans’ cameo as Johnny Storm – but it’s not exactly debatable that the previous films never made much of an effort to stay true to the source material. (Or did we Really Do we need to rehash that Galactus cloud or, worse, whatever the 2015 “Fant4stic” reboot was supposed to be?)
But maybe those dark days really are behind us. New set photos from Marvel’s currently filming Fantastic Four: First Steps have just hit the internet, and looking at them, we can at least be sure that Ben Grimm/The Thing has never looked so good. Now, we can’t in good conscience reproduce these grainy images here without getting into trouble, but trust us when we say that they’re all over social media by now and are definitely worth taking a quick look. Why? Well, let’s just say Jack Kirby himself would be immensely pleased (doubly so since this photo leak happened on his birthday).
Marvel’s “The Thing” may not be completely computer-generated after all
What’s the opposite of a celebrity turning in their grave? Whatever that is, you’d think it would apply to Jack Kirby. The famed comic book artist all but defined the look of fan-favorite character Stan Lee, imagining a hulking rock man with orange “skin,” deep brows, and a strong penchant for brawling. Compared to the entirely computer-generated version in the 2015 film (portrayed by Jamie Bell), or even the practical approach of simply covering actor Michael Chiklis under mountains of makeup and prosthetics in the two Tim Story films, Ebon Moss-Bachrach’s portrayal of the character in the MCU’s Fantastic Four: First Steps might be downright unbeatable.
I mean, you can talk about being taken directly from the comics themselves. While opinions seem to be divided on the exact uniform and its mix of white and blue, no one can criticize the use of an actual version of The Thing (one that looks pretty big and certainly gives a sense of the character’s physicality). Granted, the MCU has made it something of a tradition to film certain characters and their outfits on set in one way… only to completely rework those designs during each film’s long post-production period. That goes double for a character like Ben Grimm, who will undoubtedly require some VFX touch-ups and possibly even some motion capture work down the line. It’s also worth noting that this could very well be a simple stand-in for the real Thing, making way for something similar to Josh Brolin’s appearance as Thanos while filming Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame.
This is at least an encouraging sign that director Matt Shakman and Kevin Feige are taking the right approach – one that is based on the classic, old-fashioned designs. “Fantastic Four: First Steps” stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, Moss-Bachrach, Julia Garner, Ralph Ineson and more. The film is currently scheduled to hit theaters on July 25, 2025.
