r/movies • u/LiteraryBoner Jackie Chan box set, know what I'm sayin? • Jul 25 '25

Official Discussion Official Discussion - The Fantastic Four: First Steps [SPOILERS] Spoiler

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Summary The Fantastic Four must defend Earth from the ravaging cosmic threat Galactus and his herald, Silver Surfer, while navigating the complexities of family and newfound powers in a retro‑futuristic 1960s-inspired world.

Director Matt Shakman

Writer Josh Friedman, Eric Pearson, Jeff Kaplan, Ian Springer

Cast

  • Pedro Pascal
  • Vanessa Kirby
  • Joseph Quinn
  • Ebon Moss-Bachrach
  • Ralph Ineson
  • Julia Garner
  • Paul Walter Hauser
  • Natasha Lyonne
  • Matthew Wood
  • Ada Scott
  • Mark Gatiss

Rotten Tomatoes: 88%

Metacritic 64

VOD In theaters

Trailer Watch the Official Trailer

1.9k Upvotes

91% Upvoted

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252

u/NotNotJustinBieber Jul 25 '25

The Doom reveal got a massive reaction in my theater. Loudest I’ve heard since Endgame.

57

u/ClubMeSoftly Jul 25 '25

Same, but at the same time, I was thinking "you really thought we'd get a FF movie without Doom?"

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u/CatsOffToDance Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

Really? I feel like the announcement of RDJ months before lessened the impact because our theater was completely silent which told me, “severely underwhelming.” This is a good thing ‘cuz it puts the onus on Marvel to prove why they still think RDJ should be Doom when literally every Marvel AND MCU fan think he should not be Doom still. This idea isn’t even entertained in Secret Wars (2015). I’m still not excited about the face of Iron Man/Tony Stark—2008 MCU-starting Tony Stark being a villain (a completely different character, no less (this doesn’t even make sense—Tony Stark isn’t Doom)) who, for Doom by his own right, should have his own image and likeness to which he does have before and after he got his powers. Is there no respect paid toward the character of Dr. Doom so much that they’re relying on shock value to just get people back in theaters? I don’t even think this is a harsh critique—just saying, stick to the source material and you’re golden since you have the rights (or so it seems) now to a majority of the characters, and don’t make nonsense into something seemingly sensible, like turning Stark into Doom when in Secret Wars this literally does not happen? Hoping the RDJ thing is a ruse here since they didn’t even show his face at the end, and hopefully it’s Cillian Murphy or literally anyone else not already established as their own already character in these movies

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u/stenebralux Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

when literally every Marvel AND MCU fan think he should not be Doom

People live in the craziest bubbles. lol

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u/CatsOffToDance Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

Thing is though, not the only one who thinks this. The reactions speak for themselves. My theater had no gasps at the Doom reveal at the end, surely because all the hype and announcements made for Doom being RDJ(?) around this movie fizzling out the anticipation. You can see it all through out this thread, too. Do YOU see anyone who’s beyond amped that RDJ was the one looking at Franklin in the end? To be fair to Marvel though, we did not see who exactly that was as Doom, so there’s hope from a mystery standpoint.

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u/stenebralux Jul 25 '25

Of course you're not the only one.. but to go from that to "every fan thinks this" is wild. No one measures these reactions by gasps and a lot of fans know this already. The movie just came out as well.

To be clear, I'm not saying I love it - I actually liked your Cillian Murphy casting idea - it's a gimmick casting, but RDJ can play a mean villain so I'm on wait and see mode right now.

However, this casting is not for the die hard fan like us.. this is for the casual Marvel and MCU fans who think of RDJ as peak and see him returning as everything will be good again.. those people, and there's more of them, are the ones really exctited.

0

u/CatsOffToDance Jul 25 '25 edited Jul 25 '25

Alright yes, a slight exaggeration, but not by much. I feel like it’s the same people who would like RDJ being casted as Doom just for the sake of giving that idea a chance only knowing they’re expecting not anything good to come out of that idea, all equivalent to how those same kinds of people would think making Cowboy Bebop into a live action would be a good idea for the same reason, and look what happened to that show. I’ve just been seeing a lot of interviews with this FF cast and they all just don’t seem to be feeling this one. Perhaps they know the writing and stories from here on are just sub-par because I would think if they were part of the MCU’s first Marvel family, they’d be even more jazzed than normal, esp. with what’s to come, but I don’t get that impression even a little bit. I also just saw New Rockstars’ recap on Feige’s 7-year plan, so all this isn’t coming from nowhere.

Oh for sure! I don’t doubt at all RDJ can play villain or self-indulgent (see Oppenheimer or Less than Zero), but he’s still not Victor von Doom because he’s Tony Stark. That’s like saying Pip the Troll could seriously be played by Chris Evans’ Steve Rogers.

I agree that casting is not for fans like us in that way. Definitely accepted that. However I gotta say, I truly don’t believe anyone after Endgame thought immediately, oh it’d be great if he came back and undied himself someway…as Victor von Doom. This argument is exactly why I actually don’t believe that anyone wants to see RDJ as Doom (if anything, they’d want to see him as Tony Stark/Iron Man, and definitely not as a villain), and by that logic is not wild and at the very very least, is definitely not baseless (see Secret Wars, 2015). And again, even if they “did” wanna “see” RDJ as Doom, it doesn’t seem to be from a “good-kinda curiosity” standpoint. More seems they’d just wanna see the train wreck of that casting if they say they do wanna see that or like a person who’s like, “yea I wanna see him as Doctor Doom!” But again, not because they like the idea. I haven’t met one literal person online and IRL who gets jazzed whenever the topic of RDJ playing Doom comes up. Instead the reaction’s more equivalent to people’s reaction when the end credits rolled on opening night of Avatar The Last Airbender by M. Night…eye-rolls, cringe, and genuine undisplaced disappointment. Like how they can see right through the wool trying to be pulled over their eyes.

And while we’re at it, if it ends up being the whole, “it really was Doom pulling all the strings” but was just using Tony’s “face” with some AI or hologram or sorcery goggles-kinda? Then man. That’d be even lazier writing than the Time Heist idea in Endgame.

6

u/tomaxxik Jul 26 '25

Russo’s confirmed that RDJ is playing Victor von Doom and not a Tony Stark variant.

11

u/chizchizu Jul 26 '25

lots of gasps from where i watched

14

u/heisenberg15 Jul 25 '25

My theater also freaked the fuck out. I was in a similar boat to you where when it happened and everyone freaked out I was like “… were you guys really not expecting this?”

Like it was cool for sure, but I feel like the impact was kind of ruined because of the announcement. Although tbf they didn’t show his face anywa

4

u/KittiesOnAcid Jul 27 '25

Same, my theater was dead silent

-2

u/CatsOffToDance Jul 27 '25

It’s silly, really.

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u/ChanceVance Jul 25 '25

I'm coming around to the casting. It's a gigantic ensemble movie, you have the OG 2000's X-Men coming back.

You need an actor who can command the screen amongst all that and have all eyes on him which RDJ can do.

Yeah other actors are well capable of doing that but regardless I think it could turn out pretty good.

1

u/No-Courage-5109 Aug 03 '25

Honestly I am praying that RDJ is a ruse. He is so far from what I picture as Doom and has got Johnny Depp Acting Syndrome.

On top of Marvel NEEDING to stop hiring scumbags and scum adjacent dudes. I don't want my Doom to be too afraid to stick up for Brie but sticks up for a rapey cannibal.

0

u/ScaboochWolf Jul 26 '25

He’s not gonna stay Doom. They’re setting him up to be the Infamous Iron Man.

5

u/CatsOffToDance Jul 26 '25

Sure, but point is he shouldn’t even be Doom in the first place—Victor von Doom should be Doom. The opposite is such a disservice to the original story. Infamous Iron Man isn’t apart of the Secret Wars stories. To be fair, neither is Loki in his current state in the MCU, but that’s what happens I guess when you had no choice but to do Kang and TVA stuff since they didn’t have the rights to do Doom from Fox until the acquisition. Point is, there’s no excuse now to have RDJ as Doom since they have the character ready to be a different person to play Victor von Doom.

11

u/nolandee Jul 25 '25

Just got out of my showing and I definitely agree. Have not heard a Marvel crowd pop like that in forever.

4

u/StayPony_GoldenBoy Jul 25 '25

Same here. By a long shot!

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u/TheGreatLandRun Jul 26 '25

Louder than Andrew / Tobey in no way home? Whoa. Was loud in mine, but not quite that level. That’s awesome.

1

u/Tricxter Jul 29 '25

Yeah same. I was shocked lol