With “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts*” (aka “The New Avengers”) having finished their theatrical runs, “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” is the only MCU movie left this year. Marvel hosted a red carpet premiere on July 21, streaming the event on Disney Plus. Marvel also gave subscribers an unexpected perk for paying for Disney’s streaming service: a preview of the film’s first five minutes.
The good news about that preview is that it’s made up mostly of footage that Marvel used extensively for the “Fantastic Four” trailers and extended videos we saw during the film’s marketing push. That means MCU fans haven’t been exposed to anything important in the movie beyond those five minutes. They’ll have to head to a theater on Friday, or catch the Wednesday (where available) and Thursday previews to see how this MCU story gets us closer to “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Secret Wars.”
Some Marvel fans must be anticipating the ending of “First Steps” to see how this new group of heroes connect to the main MCU reality. We already know the action in the reboot happens in a different reality, a spoiler that Marvel was happy to reveal months ago. “The Fantastic Four” credits scenes are the likeliest place to see that connection happen. As with other MCU movies before, those credits scenes already leaked. We’re looking at two tags for the movie. This is where I warn you that massive spoilers follow below for “The Fantastic Four.” Best to avoid what follows if you want to be surprised.
Lightening the mood with a throwback cartoon
According to well-known Marvel leaker MyTimeToShineHello (via ComicBookMovie), the film’s second credits scene consists of an animated sequence showing the Fantastic Four fighting a bunch of villains. If accurate, that’s a fun way to end the movie on a more positive note. It’s also a great homage to the First Family, the team of superheroes that made Marvel’s comic success possible. Not to mention that such an ending fits with the first five minutes of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” that Marvel released on Disney Plus.
Those five minutes serve to introduce this Fantastic Four team without trudging through their entire backstory. We learn why they’re the heroes of this universe and how they got their powers. We also see those powers in action. It’s a great way to introduce the MCU’s main Fantastic Four heroes without resorting to another origin story.
The animated post-credits scene is also an exciting teaser of things to come. It’s an animated skit, sure, but it’s what the audience might need ahead of the Fantastic Four meeting up with the Avengers to fight Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.).
Doom arrives in the MCU
Marvel’s credit scene choices mimic what happened with “Thunderbolts*.” The movie featured one fun scene and a serious one. The latter was us seeing the New Avengers as an actual team. More importantly, the “Thunderbolts*” tag served to tie “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” to the MCU. We see the Fantastic Four ship flying into the main reality at the end of that scene.
Before “The Fantastic Four” credits scenes leaked, we learned of another similarity between Marvel’s last two MCU movies. Like the “Thunderbolts*” credits scene, the key tag in “Fantastic Four” was shot during the production of “Avengers: Doomsday.” Director Matt Shakman confirmed to ComicBook that the Russo brothers filmed the scene, just like they did with the “Thunderbolts*” tag. The Russos were apparently “very involved” in “First Steps.“ That’s not surprising, as the Fantastic Four will be key additions to the Avengers roster for the upcoming fight against Doom.
MyTimeToShineHello’s credits leak explains why the Russos were involved. “[The Fantastic Four: First Steps] has two post-credits scenes. One is Doom showing up in Sue’s place looking at Franklin (we don’t see RDJ), the second one is a short animated skit with the four fighting villains,” the leaker said. If the information is accurate, this will mark our first official Doctor Doom sighting in the MCU. Doom coming after Franklin Richards is also an important detail, and probably a key plot detail for “The Fantastic Four” and the upcoming Avengers crossovers. Not actually seeing RDJ’s face in that Doctor Doom costume is also an interesting choice.
A canceled Fantastic Four surprise?
The same leaker said on X a few days ago that Marvel “originally planned a post-credits scene with Chris Evans as Nomad coming to warn them. Then they replaced it with one featuring Doom. Now, in the final version, there are two post-credits scenes. “Guess what they are,” she concluded. The leaker didn’t reveal actual details from the credits scenes. The scooper dropped the teaser on the same day ComicBook revealed that the Russos had shot one of “The Fantastic Four’s” credits scenes.
While it looks like we won’t see Chris Evans as Nomad in the “Fantastic Four” reboot, the beloved actor is expected to reprise his Captain America role, or possibly play other versions from the multiverse in “Doomsday” and “Secret Wars.” Finally, if you haven’t seen the first five minutes of Fantastic Four and don’t have access to Disney Plus, you can watch the recap above from YouTube channel Everything Always.
