After That ‘Fantastic Four’ Trailer, I Finally Get Why It Took Marvel So Long To Show Off Reed’s Powers
Despite The Fantastic Four: First Steps being released in three months and having multiple trailers released, one of the many aspects that remained a mystery until now was what Reed Richards’ (Pedro Pascal) powers would look like on screen. Theories arose from fans online who speculated that perhaps the visual effects weren’t ready or were poorly done, a recurring complaint of recent MCU projects, with some even believing that Reed might not have his powers as the rest of his family do, and his pursuit of them could be what caused Galactus’ (Ralph Ineson) arrival. However, the latest trailer finally gave us a shot that not only confirmed Reed does indeed have his powers but showed them in action, with the character stretching to avoid falling debris from a building while holding some kind of scepter. While fans may still wonder why we have had to wait so long, the answers become obvious when looking at past iterations of Reed’s powers, as well as the overall marketing strategy First Steps has employed.
‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Made Us Comfortable With the ’60s Aesthetic Before Showing Reed’s Abilities
Matt Shakman wants to focus on the characters and them as a family — purposefully not focusing on Robert Downey Jr.‘s Doctor Doom so as not to “take up a lot of air” and devote more screen time to the team, as Shakman explained in a thorough interview with Entertainment Weekly. Therefore, the first trailers were most likely to get us on board for this “retro-futuristic” 60s that the Fantastic Four exists within, and how they have shaped it, which the same article stated was a key term for the set designers at Pinewood. It’s a big swing for Marvel, especially with the slightly goofy aesthetic of flying cars and utopia; “Kirby meets Kubrick,” as Shakman described. If this universe is going to most likely be destroyed by the end of the film, the audience needs to feel a deep sense of connection to it, and that comes from the characters seeing themselves in that world, making it their home that cannot be replaced.
Because it’s worked so far, with interesting insights from interviews such as the one with Entertainment Weekly, including how Sue and Reed have created this utopia together, Reed’s powers now fit into the aesthetic. They were always going to look slightly odd. The ability to stretch is not the most common power in superhero fiction, especially not on screen, with even Ms. Marvel’s (Iman Vellani) power manifestation being changed to something brightly neon and energy-related, more in line with the CGI aesthetic of the overall MCU. However, because this world has its own visual language, the goofy nature of someone stretching out their body blends into the world.
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How Reed’s Powers Are Used Will Matter More Than How They Look in ‘The Fantastic Four: First Steps’
Even though we have seen Reed’s ability, and it doesn’t look bad, I’m sure this won’t stop people online from either dissecting the visuals to find errors, or worrying that the rest of the shots in the film won’t look as good as this one. However, now that we are accustomed to the powers in this trailer, the quality of the visuals will come more from how his powers are used, rather than the CGI itself. If he is using them to dance like in Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, then it will look odd and creepy, no matter how good the visual effects are.
But, if he is using them functionally and interestingly, we’ll be blown away by the character’s ingenuity rather than the actual quality of how realistic it looks. For example, seeing Reed use his powers in the trailer to seemingly traverse a crumbling building is fascinating, as we see him doing something that the others can’t do. Perhaps Johnny (Joseph Quinn) could fly out of the way, Sue (Vanessa Kirby) could create a force field, and Ben (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) could simply take the hits, but none of them could evade the falling debris with agility and still make progress upwards as Reed does. Therefore, Reed’s powers will be measured by how they make him unique in a way other than his mind. In the end, keeping the powers hidden has been a smart move that paid off. Now that we are fully engaged with the premise of the characters as people, we can enjoy their powers as extensions of themselves, rather than something through which we can judge the CGI of the film.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
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July 25, 2025
- Director
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Matt Shakman
- Writers
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Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Jack Kirby, Stan Lee
- Producers
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Jamie Christopher, Kevin Feige, Louis D’Esposito, Tim Lewis
- Franchise(s)
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Marvel Cinematic Universe
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Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
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Sue Storm / The Invisible Woman
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Joseph Quinn
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
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Ebon Moss-Bachrach
Ben Grimm / The Thing
