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Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four are beloved because they're astronauts, not superheroes, says First Steps director

The spirit of the space race is alive and well in this summer's big MCU movie

Published on Mon Apr 07 2025

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It’s not just the production design — everything about Marvel Studios’ big summer movie The Fantastic Four: First Steps is intended to invoke the optimism and attitude of America’s mid-20th century desire to meet the unknown with a spirit of adventure. (Not coincidentally, replicating the spirit that the characters were originally created with.)

“This is very much about the spirit of the Space Race,” director Matt Shakman told Empire magazine. “It's about JFK and optimism. It’s imagining these four going into space instead of Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin. This idea is that they are the most famous people in America, because they’re adventurers, explorers, astronauts — not because they're superheroes.”

The movie’s dedication to the retro-future extended into production details, Shakman revealed.

“I really wanted it to feel like it was made in 1965, the way Stanley Kubrick would have made it… Within reason,” he said, adding that the team “used old lenses, and taken an approach to filmmaking that feels more of the time. Of course,” he said, “we still have a lot of CG.”

Well, there goes the idea that production somehow managed to transform Ralph Ineson into a literal giant to play Galactus, I guess. Thanks, Marvel.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens July 25.

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.