Marvel Studios will finally be making one huge change to theMCUinThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, but we can’t believe it’s taken four years of the Multiverse Saga to make it happen. After years of waiting, the firstteaser trailer for Marvel Studios’The Fantastic Four: First Stepsreboothas provided a glimpse at the alternate universe setting of the upcoming movie. Scheduled to release on June 19, 2025,First Stepswill do something no other MCU movie has done from beginning to end, and it’s surprising Marvel hasn’t explored this avenue before.
Ever since the Fantastic Four were confirmed to be coming to the MCU followingDisney’s acquisition of 20th Century Foxin 2019, there has been the question of how their absence from the franchise’s history would be explained.Some theorized that the team could simply be retconned into the 1960s of the MCU, or suggested they may have become trapped in the Quantum Realm. However, Marvel Studios has takenThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsin a very different direction- we only wish Marvel had made this incredible choice much earlier.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Will Explore A New Reality In The MCU’s Multiverse
The Fantastic Four: First Stepswill be the first MCU movie ever to be set entirely in an alternate universe. Marvel Studios kick-started the Multiverse Saga in 2021 after the Infinity Saga’s conclusion with the Mad Titan Thanos' defeat. Even so, not manyMultiverse Saga projects have actually taken place in parallel realities, and none have set their entire story on these other worlds. The teaser trailer forThe Fantastic Four: First Stepshas proven just how much potential this offers Marvel, however, so it’s surprising no other projects have taken advantage of this possibility.
Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn and Ebon Moss-Bachrach will be debuting in the MCU as theFantastic Four from an alternate, retro-futuristic, 1960s-inspired universe. They will be established as celebrity superheroes, mirroring the likes of The Beatles in their costumed line-up and the famousTour of the White Housewith Jackie Kennedy.This alternate world will be deeply inspired by the Space Race of the mid-to-late 20th Century, and will create new opportunities for Marvel Studiosto take some exciting creative liberties.
Other Live-Action Multiverse Saga Projects Should Have Explored Alternate Worlds
While the exploration of an entirely new universe inThe Fantastic Four: First Stepsis incredibly exciting, it would have been brilliant to see Marvel Studios take advantage of the Multiverse Saga’s core narrative even more.More live-action movies and TV shows dating back to the very beginning of the Multiverse Saga should have been set completely in alternate realities. Marvel Studios has only provided short glimpses into a handful of other worlds, most notably in projects such asLoki, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of MadnessandThe Marvels, but so much more could have been done.
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Marvel Animation’sWhat If…?series introduced many alternate worlds, but we wanted more of these to be seen in live-action. This could have debuted a much wider array of interesting variants, and even brought back classic Marvel actors, such as was the case forDeadpool & Wolverine.Moments on Earth-838 inMultiverse of Madnessand in another universe inThe Marvelswere exhilarating, so it would have been great for the MCU to take even more of these chances, and this would have made Phase 6’s upcoming crossovers even stronger.
Exploring Alternate MCU Worlds Would Have Made Avengers: Doomsday & Secret Wars More Exciting
The MCU’s Alternate Realities Could Have Converged In Phase 6
Marvel Studios recently revealed the first batch ofcast actors in 2026’s upcomingAvengers: Doomsday, and this included several returning stars from universes outside the MCU’s main continuity. Most notably,Patrick Stewart, Ian McKellen, James Marsden, Rebecca Romijn, Kelsey Grammer and Alan Cumming will be reprising their roles from Fox’sX-Menuniverse, while Channing Tatum will also be reprising his X-Men-related role of Gambit.DoomsdayandSecret Warscould have benefited massively from further exploration of the MCU’s multiverse.
10 Biggest Surprises From The Avengers: Doomsday Cast Announcement
Marvel Studios had an event to announce Avengers: Doomsday’s cast, and the full list of stars included a lot of surprises, with many X-Men actors.
Not only the X-Men, butmany other live-action characters from alternate worlds could have converged inAvengers: DoomsdayandSecret Wars, had they been developed beforehand. Of course, past versions of iconic characters could still return, such as Jennifer Garner’s Elektra, Wesley Snipes' Blade, Ioan Gruffudd’s Mister Fantastic and more, but we would have loved to have seen someoriginal characters introduced in the Multiverse Saga, too. This would have madeDoomsdayandSecret Warseven more exciting as Marvel Studios' biggest movies ever.
Marvel Can Learn From The Multiverse Saga’s Mistakes In The MCU’s Next Chapter
Whatever Comes After The Multiverse Saga Should Be Planned Out Better
Despite being named the Multiverse Saga, this recent chapter of the MCU hasn’t explored the multiverse as much as it could have.The Multiverse Saga has also been developing supernatural, political and street-level narratives, which has stolen focus from the multiverse, whereas many of the projects in the Infinity Saga featured or directly developed the Infinity Stones and Thanos' influence. Marvel Studios can learn from its Multiverse Saga mistakes in the MCU’s next Saga, which is heavilyrumored to be the “Mutant Saga.”
Marvel Studios already has anX-Menreboot in development, withThe Hunger Games: The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakeswriter Michael Lesslie penning the script. There has also been speculation that a Disney+ series focused on Academy X may also be in development.
If this is the case,mutants and the X-Menneed to take center-stage from the very beginning of this Saga.It would be a shame for Marvel Studios to wait four years into a suspected “Mutant Saga” to explore the X-Men directly, just asThe Fantastic Four: First Stepswill intimately explore an alternate universe from beginning to end, four years after the Multiverse Saga began. Marvel would benefit from streamlining the MCU, allowing for a more interconnected narrative and a clearer direction, which would assuage the repeat of many recent criticisms.
