The quality that makesThe Fantastic: Four First Stepssuch a unique adaptation of Marvel’s First Family has already been tried by two very successfulMCUmovies. AfterThunderbolts*wraps up Phase 5,Matt Shakman’sThe Fantastic Four: First Stepslaunches Phase 6 and starts the countdown forAvengers: DoomsdayandAvengers: Secret Wars' release, as well as the end of the Multiverse Saga. There’s a lot riding onThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, and everything seems to be in place for it to be a widely successful MCU entry.
None of the four Fantastic Four movies made so far have reached the same level of popularity as the Avengers movies, despite the team’s comic book fame. In order to help the heroes stand out in the MCU, Marvel Studios is relying on Matt Shakman’s proven talent to establish fictional characters in certain eras of world history to transport the Fantastic Four to an unprecedented world.InThe Fantastic Four: First Steps, Marvel’s First Family live in a universe of their own.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Follows The Same Concept As Captain America And Captain Marvel
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Is The Third Period Movie In The MCU
Breaking off from the previous four Fantastic Four movies,The Fantastic Four: First Steps' 1960s-inspired settingpresents a completely new angle on Marvel’s First Family. The MCU’s Fantastic Four inhabit an alternate timeline where they’re Earth’s only superheroes and the world’s biggest celebrities. Society is a retrofuturistic version of 1960s' New York, with technology, fashion, and architecture that calls back to real-life mid-twentieth-century art and pop culture.While this style is unique to the Fantastic Four,The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis the third MCU period piece, afterCaptain America: The First AvengerandCaptain Marvel.
Captain America: The First Avengertook place almost exclusively in the 1940s, detailing Steve Rogers' evolution from army recruit to WWII icon. Meanwhile,Captain Marveltook place entirely in the 1990s, revealing why Carol Danvers didn’t return to Earth in thirty years and how Nick Fury rose through the ranks of SHIELD. On the small screen, Matt Shakman’s first MCU project,WandaVision, followed Scarlet Witch through short snippets of multiple decades inside her Westview hex.
Marvel’s Period Pieces Have Been Quite Successful So Far
The MCU’s Two Period Movies Earned $1.5 Billion Together
Captain America: The First AvengerandCaptain Marvelrack up $1.5 billion at the worldwide box office. Phase 1’sCaptain America: The First Avenger$370 million and Phase 3’sCaptain Marvelearned an impressive$1,131 billion.Captain Marvelcurrently holds the eleventh spot in the MCU’s worldwide box office rankings, andCaptain America: The First Avengerremains the third lowest-grossing MCU movie. WhileCaptain America: The First Avenger’s box office seems disappointing, it more than doubled its budget, which is an increasingly rare achievement in the Multiverse Saga.
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis likely to get close to a billion dollars
The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis one of the most awaited installments, not only of Phase 6, but of the whole Multiverse Saga. The Fantastic Four is a superhero team as important to Marvel history as the Avengers and the X-Men, and the titular heroes haven’t starred in a successful movie yet.The Fantastic Four: First Steps' cast is brimming with talent, its multiversal nature is key to the saga, its retrofuturistic setting is a fresh addition to the franchise, and the team’s future interactions with the rest of the MCU are highly anticipated. Hence,The Fantastic Four: First Stepsis likely to get close to a billion dollars.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Wasn’t The Only Period Piece In Production At Marvel
Blade Was Almost The Fourth MCU Period Piece
It was recently revealed thatBladealmost took place in the 1920s, but the Mahershala Ali-led movie went back to the drawing board, and its setting changed.Bladehas gone through several scripts, writers, and directors. At this point, it’s unknown whetherBladewill move forward or not, as no actors other than Mahershala Ali are confirmed and no release date has been announced yet.ABlademovie set in the 1920s could have been an exciting follow-up toThe Fantastic Four: First Steps' 1960s setting, and it could have opened the door for more stories set in the same era.
WandaVisionbriefly explored every decade from the 1950s to the 2000s,Captain America: First Avengertook place in the 1940s, andCaptain Marveltook place in the 1990s.Eternalsvisited certain points of human history, such as sixteenth-century Tenochtitlan, seventh-century Babylon, and fifth-century India. There are countless possible eras of human history the MCU has yet to explore. WhileBladeis foregoing the 1920s,The Fantastic Four: First Steps' 1960s setting could start a new wave of similar projects.
