Fantastic Four trailer leaves one huge unanswered question

The Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer has dropped, giving fans a look at the latest big-screen iteration of The Thing, plus a glimpse at Galactus, but the teaser also leaves one big question unanswered.

There have been four Fantastic Four movies thus far: Roger Corman’s unreleasedFantastic Fourfrom the 1990s, Tim Story’s 2005 Fantastic Four and 2007 sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer, and Josh Trank’s dark 2015 Fantastic Four.

The Fantastic Four standing in front of a giant 4.

Characters have since cameoed in theMarvel Cinematic Universe, viaJohn Krasinski’s Reed RichardsinDoctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, and Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm inDeadpool & Wolverine.

But in2025Marvel’s First Family is getting a standalone MCU movie, with Matt Shakman directing The Fantastic Four: First Steps, and the cast consisting of Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm. Thanks to their debut trailer, fans just got a first look at the awesome foursome in action.

Article image

John Malkovich glimpsed in Fantastic Four trailer

The trailer gives us a glimpse at The Thing, Invisible Woman, and Human Torch in action, and there’s even a look at Galactus, from behind, towering over the Statue of Liberty.

But the First Steps traileralsofeatures a shot of John Malkovich’s character, without any indication of who he is or how he fits into the story.

The Fantastic Four posing on a 1994 poster.

But he has long, grey hair, so there’s a chance it’s Ivan Kragoff, aka Red Ghost, a Marvel villain who has previously done battle with the Fantastic Four alongside his Super-Apes.

Elsewhere in the trailer, we visit the Baxter Building, meet H.E.R.B.I.E., and see the Fantasticar cruising through the streets. Though no stretchy Mister Fantastic footage.

The cast of the Fantastic Four

The Fantastic Four: First Steps features four fantastic cameos you probably missed

Ranking the Fantastic Four movies from worst to best, including First Steps

Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm in The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Vanessa Kirby is “dying” to play Marvel supervillain after The Fantastic Four: First Steps

In terms of dialogue, Reed tells Sue: “Before we went up the first time, you couldn’t turn invisible, Ben wasn’t a rock, and Johnny never could fire.”

Storm responds to this by setting out their familial credentials, saying: “Ben has always been a rock. Johnny is… Johnny. And I’m right here. Whatever life throws at us, we’ll face it together, as a family.”

For more comic book action, here’severy Marvel show ranked fromworst to best, plus our list of thebest superhero moviesever.