Is The Fantastic Four going back to basics? The reboot’s director reveals if the film will be an origin story, along with a first look at the iconic Baxter Building!
For as hype as fans are about The Fantastic Four: First Steps, there are a lot of pitfalls that the film needs to avoid in order to stand out as something truly great. One of those dangers is spending too much time in the reboot telling an origin story for such a well-known team. However, according to director Matt Shakman, the film won’t focus on the team’s first days.
“One of the things we decided early on was not to do an origin story,” Shakman explained in a recent talk with Entertainment Weekly. “One of the ways we’re making it our own thing is we’re not telling the story of them going up and being changed, and starting our story [there].”
“There’s a lot of well-known narrative that leads into that moment, right? And then you’re making up your new story starting basically at the end of the first act, and we thought, ‘Well, let’s just start this thing off on a completely new foot. So we are beginning after that.'”
It’s a relief to hear that director Matt Shakman won’t be retreading the same old beats in The Fantastic Four: First Steps. The reboot already has a massive amount of ground to cover, so it’s best not to get bogged down with things fans already know. However, it seems the film isn’t totally getting rid of everything fans have seen before.
Baxter Building’s First Look In The Fantastic Four
There wasn’t too much revealed about The Fantastic Four: First Steps during San Diego Comic-Con, aside from the obvious name change. While director Matt Shakman did speak more on the process of making the film and some of his choices for the reboot, what stood out the most to fans were flaps given out at the convention, which included the first look at the Baxter Building.
The design of the Baxter Building lines up with everything fans have heard about Matt Shakman’s aesthetic for The Fantastic Four: First Steps. It’s clear that the reboot is taking a retro-futurist approach to all parts of its world. Even though this film will likely take place in a different universe, hopefully, some of these designs can bleed their way into the MCU proper!
The Fantastic Four opens on July 25, 2025. Stay tuned for all the latest news regarding the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe and make sure to subscribe to our YouTube channel for more content!
