The Fantastic Four: First Steps is a 2025 American superhero film based on the Marvel Comics superhero team the Fantastic Four. Produced by Marvel Studios and distributed by Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures, it is the 37th film in the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the second reboot of the Fantastic Four film series. The film was directed by Matt Shakman from a screenplay by Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, and Ian Springer. It features an ensemble cast including Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as the titular team, alongside Julia Garner, Sarah Niles, Mark Gatiss, Natasha Lyonne, Paul Walter Hauser, and Ralph Ineson. In the film, the Fantastic Four must protect their 1960s-inspired retro-futuristic world from the planet-devouring cosmic being Galactus (Ineson).20th Century Fox began work on a new Fantastic Four film following the failure of Fantastic Four (2015). After the studio was acquired by Disney in March 2019, control of the franchise was transferred to Marvel Studios, and a new film was announced that July. Jon Watts was set to direct in December 2020, but stepped down in April 2022. Shakman replaced him that September when Kaplan and Springer were working on the script. Casting began by early 2023, and Friedman joined in March to rewrite the script. The film is differentiated from previous Fantastic Four films by avoiding the team's origin story. Pearson joined to polish the script by mid-February 2024, when the main cast and the title The Fantastic Four were announced. The subtitle was added in July, when filming began and lasted until November 2024 at Pinewood Studios in England, and on location in England and Spain.The Fantastic Four: First Steps premiered at the Dorothy Chandler Pavilion in Los Angeles on July 21, 2025, and was released in the United States on July 25, as the first film in Phase Six of the MCU. The film received generally positive reviews from critics. A sequel is in development.