‘Fantastic Four’ Trailer Electrifies CinemaCon With Silver Surfer’s Debut (and Vanessa Kirby’s Pregnant Superhero)

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At CinemaCon 2025, the presentation titled “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” left the crowd thrilled, featuring an impressive unveiling of the villain and a heap of exhilarating superhero moments.

At the Marvel Studios convention for movie theater owners in Las Vegas, division head Kevin Feige shared a video message from the set of “Avengers: Doomsday.” In this video, he built anticipation for an extended sneak peek at the main characters. The narrative takes place in a futuristic version of Earth with a retro feel, and it’s directed by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach.

Four astronauts – Reed (Pascal), Sue (Kirby), Johnny (Quinn), and Ben (Moss-Bachrach) – undergo a transformation into superheroes following their encounter with cosmic rays in space. Reed acquires the power to elongate his body beyond normal limits. Sue, Reed’s romantic partner, obtains the ability to become invisible and generate force fields. Sue’s brother Johnny can ignite his body, enabling him to fly. However, Ben, Reed’s friend, has been transformed into The Thing, which means he now resembles a massive, orange boulder. This change gives him extraordinary strength but also leaves him with ongoing feelings of low self-worth.

In the latest preview, it’s revealed at the beginning that Reed and Sue are having a baby, with Kirby visibly sporting a pregnancy bump. This will be the first instance in Marvel’s universe where a superhero mom is depicted as working. In the storyline, these heroes are renowned celebrities, making appearances on talk shows and receiving heartfelt gratitude videos from kids and firefighters. It appears that they can handle anything, including babysitting duties and saving the world.

In the CinemaCon theater, the sleek and intimidating (female) adversary known as the Silver Surfer made her entrance, causing a mix of screams and cheers. She informed the quartet that their world had been tagged by extraterrestrial forces for destruction.

Kirby comforts Pascal with the words, ‘Don’t worry, we’ll tackle this problem hand in hand.’ He adds, ‘We’re in this as one unit, like a family,'” or more casually, “Kirby tells Pascal, ‘No worries, we’ve got this together. We stick together and fight it out just like a family.’

Over the last two years, Marvel has faced a series of setbacks that have caused some doubt about their unstoppable box office success. Movies such as “Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania” and “The Marvels” underperformed significantly, causing questions about the invincibility of their money-making superhero formula. This was especially evident in the studio’s capacity to blend humor, emotion, and top-tier action seamlessly, a skill they were previously renowned for. Even their television projects like “Secret Invasion,” which are crucial for maintaining audience engagement between films, have received negative feedback.

After receiving much criticism about Marvel’s missteps, chief Feige has been working diligently to address the issues from all angles. The upcoming project “Fantastic Four: First Steps” is being touted as a promising step towards regaining Marvel’s original storytelling prowess.

Actor Paul Walter Hauser expressed his conviction in late March, stating that this particular venture could well be remembered as a significant catalyst for a new wave of triumphant storytelling at the company, similar to how “Guardians of the Galaxy” and “Black Panther” made their impact. In essence, he believes we’re on the verge of achieving the same level of success.

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2025-04-04 02:20