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Be warned: speculation for The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows beyond this point. If it turns out to be true, that's a potential spoiler.

Follow us down the rabbit hole of internet speculation and corporate synergy for a brief minute, if you please. A recurring piece of speculation surrounding Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps for some months — ever since it’s been revealed that the Invisible Woman will be pregnant in the movie — has been the idea that the MCU Galactus will, somehow, be the child of Reed and Sue Richards.

Again: this is pure speculation at this point. It’s not even clear where this line of thinking came from, outside of the fact that both are rumored to be in the movie, and the comic book Franklin Richards — Reed and Sue’s son — has cosmic powers. Curiously enough, a Franklin-is-Galactus reveal has appeared in Marvel’s comic book canon before, in the 2000-2001 miniseries Universe X… which happens to be part of the same continuity as the series that introduced Shalla-Bal as a female Silver Surfer, an idea that is being used in First Steps.

Here’s where things get interesting. Marvel’s comic books don’t just inspire Marvel Studios’ efforts; they also follow their lead, in many cases — most recently, in renaming its New Thunderbolts* series as The New Avengers just days after the Thunderbolts* movie is similarly renamed. In a recent newsletter, Marvel Comics executive editor Tom Brevoort discussed that title change and wrote, “in general, we learn about the broad strokes of what the Studios teams are planning early enough to be able to effectively synergize in most situations, should we choose to do so. But just like us, their plans tend to change and shift as they develop them, so there isn’t any set clock on this.”

And in this week’s Fantastic Four #32, we get this page:

There is, of course, context to this reveal, and it’s likely not what you expect; however, I’d recommend reading the issue for full effect, especially because Ryan North’s Fantastic Four run has been a lot of fun, especially as it leads into the conclusion of the current series and subsequent relaunch. Nonetheless: that's definitely Franklin Richards as Galactus, right there on the page, two months before the release of The Fantastic Four: First Steps. 

…So, is this a coincidence, an intentional reference to an online theory that may or may not have any relation to the Fantastic Four movie, or a tease of things to come on the big screen? We’ll find out on July 25, when The Fantastic Four: First Steps reaches theaters. For now, let’s just note it and accept that if nothing else, it’s definitely… interesting.

Fantastic Four #32 is available now.

Keep up to date on Popverse's Marvel coverage, with these highlights:

• The MCU needs Anya Taylor-Joy's Magik in it (and not just for the X-Men connection)
• How Disney+'s What If...? is the moonshot for the next 50 years of Marvel Studios & the MCU
• Marvel Studios has accidentally created a new Phase that predates Phases 1 - 6: the MCU Phase Zero
• Overgrown children of the atom: Marvel's X-Men can't evolve past their '90s commercial peak
• The biggest outstanding questions of the Marvel Studios' movies & TV shows
• Donald Trump is the landlord for Marvel's House of Ideas
• Marvel Studios swapping out Doctor Doom for Kang offers the chance to jettison the Multiverse Saga
• What Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige is saying (and not saying) about the MCU X-Men franchise says a lot about the future of the Mutant Saga
• If Marvel is going to bring Loki back for Secret Wars, it's time to give him an upgrade
• In 2021, Sony's boss said people won't miss Spider-Man in its Spider-adjacent movie. Turns out, they do.