Kevin Feige Promises ‘Fantastic Four’ Will Finally Be a No-Homework Marvel Movie

The Marvel Cinematic Universe has gotten pretty complicated in recent years. With every new movie or show, there’s more to watch just to keep up. If you’re someone trying to jump into the MCU now, it probably feels impossible. You’ve got years of backstories, endless cameos, and references that only long-time fans will catch.

Marvel tried to fix that before, but it didn’t really work. When the Echo series was announced, it was supposed to be simple and character-focused. You weren’t supposed to need any past knowledge. But when the show came out, fans realized you had to know her story from Netflix’s Daredevil and also from Hawkeye just to understand her connection to Kingpin.

Then Deadpool & Wolverine promised to be a movie anyone could watch. But that didn’t exactly work out either. Since most of the movie was packed with jokes and references to Fox’s old X-Men movies and even the old Fantastic Four, people who didn’t know those stories felt lost. In fact, some critics gave the film low scores just because they had no idea what was going on.

Now Kevin Feige, the president of Marvel Studios, says things are finally different. Speaking with reporters, Feige promised that the upcoming Fantastic Four movie is truly a no-homework-needed project.

Feige said, “It’s a no-homework-required, go see the movie. It’s literally not connected to anything that was made before. It kicks off Phase Six.”

This time, fans are more willing to believe him. Unlike past Marvel projects, Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in its own world, without ties to the Avengers, the blip, or any multiverse shenanigans. According to Feige, Marvel wanted this film to stand completely on its own.

He explained, “There were a lot of left turns and surprises that happened over the last seven or eight years. A positive one was to finally have those characters back and the X-Men.”

Fantastic Four: First Steps is directed by Matt Shakman. The movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the main team. Other actors in the movie include Julia Garner, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. Ineson plays Galactus, the giant cosmic villain coming to destroy their 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world.

The movie avoids retelling the team’s origin story, something that past versions of Fantastic Four focused on. Instead, the film throws the audience straight into their world and their fight against Galactus.

Marvel originally got the rights back to Fantastic Four after Disney bought Fox in 2019. Since then, they’ve been working to bring the characters into the MCU. Jon Watts was originally hired to direct, but he stepped down, and Matt Shakman took over. The film was shot in England and Spain between July and November 2024.

Fantastic Four: First Steps will premiere in Los Angeles on July 21, 2025, and hit theaters everywhere on July 25. According to Marvel, a sequel is already in development.

For once, it looks like you really won’t need to do any catch-up before heading to the theater. Just buy a ticket and enjoy the ride.

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