Set against the backdrop of a vibrant, retro-futuristic 1960s universe, Marvel's First Family—Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm—navigate their lives as celebrity superheroes and explorers. But their world is threatened by a terrifying cosmic entity known as Galactus and his enigmatic herald, the Silver Surfer. The team must master their incredible abilities and bond as a family to protect their planet from total annihilation, marking their first major step into a larger multiverse.
Information |
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Language |
English |
Country |
United States |
Premiere date |
July 25, 2025 |
Running time |
TBD minutes |
Genre |
Action Adventure Sci-Fi |
Budget |
$200,000,000 (Estimated) |
Box Office |
TBD |
Crew |
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Directed by |
Matt Shakman |
Produced by |
Kevin Feige |
Written by |
Josh Friedman Jeff Kaplan Ian Springer Peter Cameron |
Music by |
Michael Giacchino |
Cinematography |
Dan Laustsen |
Edited by |
TBD |
Production Co. |
Marvel Studios |
Distributed by |
Walt Disney Studios Motion Pictures |
Top Cast |
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Official Trailer |
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Movie Collection |
Movie Order: #04 in Fantastic Four Collection
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The Plot
The First Family of the Future
In an alternate vision of the 1960s, Dr. Reed Richards and his wife, Dr. Sue Storm, share a private moment of joy as they celebrate a positive pregnancy test. Shortly thereafter, the couple joins the rest of the world in watching a special broadcast by television host Ted Gilbert, marking the fourth anniversary of the world-famous Fantastic Four. The broadcast recounts the team’s extraordinary origin: Richards, Storm, her brother Johnny, and Richards' best friend Ben Grimm were exposed to potent Cosmic Radiation during a space expedition aboard the starship Excelsior. The incident forever altered their physiology, granting Richards elasticity, Sue the ability to manipulate invisible energy, Johnny the power of pyrokinesis, and transforming Grimm into a super-strong being with an indestructible rock-like hide.
Now residing in the high-tech Baxter Building, the team operates as a family unit, having successfully defended humanity against threats such as Giganto, Harvey "Mole Man" Elder, the Mad Thinker, and the Red Ghost along with his Super-Apes. During a Sunday dinner, Sue’s pregnancy is officially announced to the public and the team. Amidst global speculation regarding whether the child will inherit superpowers, Sue decides to take maternity leave from the Future Foundation, the organization dedicated to global demilitarization and peace.
Signals from the Deep
While the world buzzes with news of the pregnancy, Reed retreats to his laboratory accompanied by his robot assistant, H.E.R.B.I.E. He reviews vintage spacesuit designs brought in by Johnny, who longs for another chance at space travel. Reed focuses on a series of experiments testing the teleportation of organic matter; while successful, the process demands immense amounts of energy. As Reed runs diagnostics on Sue’s unborn child, Johnny inadvertently resets a breaker, coinciding with the recording of a new, mysterious deep-space transmission. Johnny studies the recording intensely, his desire to return to the stars growing stronger.
Meanwhile, Ben Grimm returns to the Baxter Building after spending time with Rachel Rozman, a local schoolteacher and his love interest. Joining the family on the balcony before dinner, the domestic tranquility is shattered when the sky suddenly turns a vibrant, ominous orange. An alien woman riding a silver surfboard descends from the heavens, landing in Times Square. This "Silver Surfer" is the herald of Galactus, an omnipotent cosmic entity that devours planets to sustain his life force—and Earth has been chosen as his next meal. Johnny chases the visitor through the city, but she shakes him off, leaving him with a cryptic foreign proverb before departing.
The Hunger of Galactus
Back at the Baxter Building, the team analyzes the Silver Surfer's trajectory. They discover a terrifying pattern: every one of the five planets she has previously visited has been destroyed. Johnny, intrigued by the linguistics, reviews old transmissions and realizes the Surfer's language is present in all of them. Realizing the gravity of the threat, the Fantastic Four publicly announce their mission to confront the entity. Accompanied by H.E.R.B.I.E., they board the Excelsior, lock onto the Faster-than-Light Engine, and travel to a distant sector where they witness a planet collapsing into Galactus’ massive ship.
Boarding the ship, they confront the Silver Surfer, who explains to Johnny that her proverb was actually a blessing: "Die with yours." The meeting is interrupted by the arrival of Galactus, who demands the unborn child. He reveals that the infant possesses limitless power and is destined to inherit the eternal hunger that plagues him. The team staunchly refuses to surrender the child and manages to escape, pursued by the Silver Surfer through a wormhole. They emerge in the accretion disk of a neutron star. Reed executes a dangerous maneuver to trap the Surfer past the event horizon, using the star’s gravity to slingshot the Excelsior to safety. The immense stress of the escape triggers Sue’s labor, and amidst the cosmic chaos, baby Franklin Richards is delivered on board.
Archimedes' Lever
Upon returning to Earth, a shaken Reed addresses the public in the lobby of the Baxter Building. He reveals Galactus’ demand for Franklin and the team's refusal, even if it risks Earth's destruction. Desperate for a solution, Reed applies Archimedes' law of the lever, theorizing that a small, well-placed force can move a much larger load—metaphorically solving a smaller problem to shift a catastrophic chain of events. While Johnny works tirelessly to translate more transmissions to find this "lever," public opinion turns sharply against the Fantastic Four. Crowds gather, urging the team to surrender the baby to save the planet. Sue is furious that Reed would even entertain the logic of their arguments, but Reed insists he must always plan for the worst scenarios to defeat his enemies. Sue retorts that his obsession with worst-case scenarios hurts his family just as much as his foes.
Sue steps outside to address the angry protestors directly. She recounts the tragedy of her own childhood, recalling how her father fought to keep their family together after a gruesome car crash. Channeling the memory of her late mother, she vows that the Fantastic Four will "move heaven and Earth" to protect humanity. This phrase triggers an epiphany in Reed: his Teleportation Bridge technology could theoretically move Earth itself out of harm's way. The Future Foundation rallies international cooperation to construct massive, synchronized bridges. However, just as the global energy is conserved to power the project and Galactus' ship draws near, the Silver Surfer arrives and destroys the bridges.
The Herald's Burden
Johnny, having achieved fluency in the alien language, discovers the truth behind the Silver Surfer. She was once an astronomer from the planet Zenn-La who agreed to become Galactus' herald solely to spare her own world and save her daughter. Johnny confronts her in Times Square, challenging her morality regarding the countless worlds she has helped destroy. He attempts to reason with her, appealing to her past humanity, but she remains steadfast, urging him to give up Franklin to spare Earth, just as she sacrificed her freedom for Zenn-La.
With the planetary transport plan in ruins and no way to flee the Solar System, Reed devises a final, desperate strategy: lure Galactus into the last functioning Teleportation Bridge in Times Square and transport the cosmic entity to the farthest reaches of the universe. The plan, however, requires Franklin to serve as bait, a realization that causes collective distress among the team. Preparing for the end, the team coordinates with Harvey Elder to evacuate the population of New York into the underground realm of Subterranea. Ben shares a tearful farewell with Rachel Rozman before taking his post.
The Battle for Earth
Galactus arrives, his presence dwarfing the city. The team executes their plan, distracting the cosmic giant while swapping Franklin’s baby seat with an empty duplicate, handing the real infant to H.E.R.B.I.E. for safety. However, Galactus sees through the ruse almost immediately. He seizes the real Franklin from the Baxter Building. A desperate battle ensues in the streets of New York. Reed, Johnny, and Ben fight with everything they have to support Sue, who pushes her powers beyond their limits to force Galactus toward the Teleportation Bridge.
Seeing the family's resolve, Johnny prepares to sacrifice himself to ensure the plan succeeds. However, the Silver Surfer intervenes at the last second. Moved by the team's struggle and Johnny's words, she turns against her master. She rams Galactus, pushing him into the energy stream of the bridge. Both the Surfer and Galactus are teleported away, vanishing from the Solar System. In the aftermath, the strain proves too much for Sue; she collapses, and despite Reed’s frantic attempts, he fails to revive her. Suddenly, baby Franklin utilizes his dormant cosmic powers, miraculously bringing his mother back to life.
A New Chapter
With Earth saved and the family reunited, the victory is celebrated worldwide. The Fantastic Four prepare to make another appearance on The Ted Gilbert Show, attempting to return to a semblance of normalcy. However, duty calls, and they are forced to leave the broadcast early to answer a distress signal, reaffirming their commitment to protecting the world.
Four years later, domestic life has settled. Sue is seen reading to a young Franklin. She steps out of the room briefly to fetch another book. When she returns, she finds a mysterious, cloaked figure sitting on the couch. The intruder slowly removes his mask, revealing his face to the child.
