We Now Know When ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Wraps Filming
Anticipation is high for The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which will introduce the superhero quartet to the Marvel Cinematic Universe at long last. Most details about the film are still in the shadows, but with less than a year until it flies into theaters, one of the film’s stars has given a major update: Joseph Quinn, set to play Johnny Storm/Human Torch, has revealed that The Fantastic Four: First Steps has just two weeks of shooting left. So it appears that production – and eventually post-production – is coming quickly for the film.
Quinn revealed the news in an interview with Variety at the London premiere of his film Gladiator II. “We’ve got about two more weeks to film, and then we’re done,” Quinn said. The actor also gave some insight about working with his Gladiator II co-star Pedro Pascal, who is also starring in The Fantastic Four as the group’s leader, Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic. “It’s just a treat to work with [Pascal] again, we’ve made good friends with each other. And so to go into a situation where you know each other, or you know someone else, it’s just lovely. We’re having a great time,” said Quinn.
While plot details about the film remain mostly unknown, it has been confirmed that The Fantastic Four will be a sort of ‘period piece’ taking place before the modern MCU, and will serve to introduce the ‘first family’ of Marvel. Beyond Quinn and Pascal, the quartet is rounded out by Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman and Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm/The Thing. The booming baritone of Ralph Ineson will star as the group’s villain, Galactus, while other cast members include Julia Garner, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Paul Walter Hauser.
Fans of the MCU are getting excited for this installment of the Fantastic Four – especially because the prior 20th Century Fox films were not well-received. But fans seem pumped up for the group to finally join the MCU. This includes some of the actors themselves such as Bachrach, who previously shed light on the animation used to create The Thing. “They got so many amazing animators working on it, literally hundreds of people working on it,” Bachrach said in an interview. “I haven’t been able to see anything yet, I don’t know exactly what the lead time is. I’m very excited to see something.”
What is clear, though, is that development on The Fantastic Four is moving fast – and seems to be nearing completion. The film was directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Josh Friedman, and Peter Cameron. Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige will produce The Fantastic Four alongside Nick Pepin and Grant Curtis.
