Fantastic Four: First Steps on Disney+: Here’s When You Can Watch
Marvel’s first family has landed in the MCU, and their origin chapter is blasting onto Disney+ soon. Here’s when you can stream The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
If you skipped The Fantastic Four: First Steps in theaters and were waiting for the couch-friendly option, good news: the wait is almost over.
When and where you can watch it
Per Variety, The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits Disney+ on November 5. The Blu-ray is already on shelves if you still like discs and bonus features.
For what it is worth, the movie did not come close to Marvel's biggest box-office peaks, but it played better with audiences than a lot of the more recent MCU entries. In other words: not a mega-smash, but a decent course correction.
What this one is actually about
Marvel sets the First Family in a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic world and leans into the family dynamic. Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben are juggling being superheroes and, well, being a family, while trying to stop Galactus - yes, the Devourer of Worlds - from turning Earth into a snack. His Herald is the Silver Surfer, but here it is the Shalla-Bal version, played by Julia Garner. And the cosmic threat is not just cosmic; it gets personal for our quartet.
It is a swingy setup for Marvel, and the period-flavored sci-fi look gives it a different texture than the usual MCU sheen. Also, the Surfer choice is a deep-cut comics nod that the movie actually commits to. There is even a certain chatty helper robot: H.E.R.B.I.E., voiced by Matthew Wood.
Who made it and who is in it
- Launches Phase Six of the MCU
- Director: Matt Shakman (WandaVision)
- Writers: Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer
- Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards, aka Mr. Fantastic
- Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm, aka the Invisible Woman
- Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm, aka the Human Torch
- Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm, aka the Thing
- Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer (Shalla-Bal)
- Ralph Ineson as Galactus
- Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles in supporting roles
- Matthew Wood as the voice of the robot H.E.R.B.I.E.
The early word
If you have been feeling superhero fatigue, you are not alone. But some folks came out of this one surprisingly upbeat. JoBlo EIC Chris Bumbray put it this way:
"Creatively it is the best Marvel movie in a long time - and a stellar way to introduce Marvel's First Family to the cinematic universe... For the first time in ages, a Marvel mid-credits scene actually got me excited about what is next."
We will see how it plays on streaming, but if you have been waiting for Marvel to show some spark again, November 5 on Disney+ is your shot.