Galactus peeked in the Fantastic Four Panel at SDCC 2024

A presumably full size inflatable replica of the Fantasticar floats above the stage of Hall H at the 2024 Marvel Studios panel. The car is sleek, wheel-less, and colored in blue chrome with yellow accents.

The cast of Marvel StudiosFantastic Four took Hall H stage at San Diego Comic-Con today to preview the MCU’s first Fantastic Four movie, now known as The Fantastic Four: First Steps.

Cast members Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/The Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/The Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing) — along with director Matt Shakman — were on hand to treat the crowd to teases for the film and new footage.

Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige confirmed in June that the movie would be a period piece and potentially set in an alternate universe. The Hall H panel further confirmed that, whatever universe it is, First Steps will be set in the 1960s. “The ’60s, to me, is all about optimism,” said Shakman, while the cast stressed the family atmosphere of making a movie about Marvel Comics’ so-called First Family.

The Hall H audience was treated to the sight of an inflatable replica of the movie’s Fantasticar, and to a clip of Reed Richards, in a video for the Future Foundation, a Richards-founded think tank of superhero futurists that is often woven through Fantastic Four stories. The clip concluded with Galactus, the Devourer of Worlds peeking through the windows of the Baxter Building, the FF’s headquarters, a revoltin’ development indeed.

Photo: Andrew Melnizek/Polygon

Shakman, Pascal, Kirby, Quinn, and Moss-Bachrach trooped off stage at the end of the panel, probably to get some rest, because The Fantastic Four: First Steps begins filming quite soon — Tuesday, the panel confirmed. The core four actors will be joined by Julia Garner (Ozark) as Shalla-Bal (the Silver Surfer, probably), and Paul Walter Hauser (Richard Jewell), John Malkovich (Con Air), and Natasha Lyonne (Poker Face) in undisclosed roles.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will hit theaters on July 25, 2025.

You can find all Polygon’s coverage of SDCC 2024 news, trailers, and more here.

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