When it comes to Marvel Studios’ grand Comic-Con showcase for the future of the MCU, it’s fair to say Robert Downey Jr.’s return in Avengers: Doomsday grabbed most of the attention. And yet that doesn’t mean we should sleep on all the other exciting revelations that came out of the event, including everything we learned about next summer’s Fantastic Four reboot.
Officially titled The Fantastic 4: First Steps, the movie from director Matt Shakman was confirmed to be set in an alternate “retro-future” 1960s period and a trailer exclusively shown in Hall H (but which naturally leaked online) reveals our first look at stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach in action as the iconic quartet. Honestly, though, the fandom’s biggest takeaway from the Fantastic 4 portion of the panel is something that Marvel wasn’t necessarily trying to show off: the insane chemistry between Pascal and Kirby.
Be it through their lingering looks, gushing comments about each other, or their surprising PDAs despite standing in front of thousands of people, our new Mr. Fantastic and Invisible Woman have already won over the entire Marvel-loving community — as it’s clear that the two co-stars adore each other as much as their on-screen alter egos.
Vanessa, your Sue is showing.
No comment.
Where do Reed and Sue end and Pascal and Kirby begin?
That’s our Mr. and Mrs. Richards.
While it’s not one that’s often talked about, considering the other myriad problems that also plague those films, one central issue with all three of Fox’s Fantastic Four movies is that their iterations of Reed Richards and Sue Storm had zero chemistry. Ioan Gruffudd and Jessica Alba’s portrayals are popular, but not necessarily as an item. Meanwhile, Miles Teller and Kate Mara had no chance of convincing us of their romance when Mara couldn’t even convince us that her awful yellow wig was her own hair.
At long last, though, it looks like we have finally found a perfectly cast Reed and Sue who get on swimmingly on screen and off. If we’re lucky, we may have a new MCU power couple to join Tony and Pepper, Steve and Peggy, and the few Marvel romances that actually work (I said what I said) come July 2025.