The Fantastic Four accidentally become MCU villains in shocking Phase 6 theory

Warning: This article contains spoilers for Deadpool & Wolverine.

A shocking new theory suggests that the titular team of Marvel Studios The Fantastic Four: First Steps could be accidentally introduced into the MCU as villains. Marvel Studios boss Kevin Feige revealed more about the upcoming Phase 6 The fantastic Four Reboot at this year's San Diego Comic-Con, where new information will be revealed about the film that will officially bring the entire first family of Marvel into the MCU. Although not much is known about The Fantastic Four: First Steps' Plot, the anticipation for the upcoming film is great.

While John Krasinski appeared as Reed Richards from Earth-838 in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madnessand Chris Evans returned as Johnny Storm in Deadpool and Wolverine, The Fantastic Four: First Steps' The cast will introduce four exciting new talents as the official MCU superhero team. However, a wild new theory from mainmiddleman suggests that the film could change the Fantastic Four's backstory for the MCU. It is known that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will not be an honest origin storybut this theory suggests that the team members' backgrounds inadvertently make them villains.

Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in another universe

When the cast of The Fantastic Four: First Steps was confirmed on Valentine's Day, The 1960s style of the film's initial marketing materials fueled the theory that the story would take place in an alternate reality.. These thoughts were supported when a character poster featuring Johnny Storm's Human Torch was released, as the city in the background looks nothing like Earth-616's New York City. These theories were recently confirmed by Marvel Studios, particularly in Kevin Feige's comments, where these The fantastic Four Theories “intelligent observations”.

A gift for the audience at Marvel Studios’ Hall H presentation at this year’s SDCC further confirmed these theories about alternate universes. It included a map of New York City in The Fantastic Four: First Stepswhich includes several landmarks never seen in the main MCU continuity, including the Baxter Building, Subterranea, the Excelsior Launch Pad, and the FF Clean Energy Complex. While The Fantastic Four: First Steps' alternate universe is confirmed, this new theory suggests that this is not really the original home of Marvel's First Family.

The Fantastic Four are from Earth-616: MCU theory explained

The theory of mainmiddleman assumes that the Fantastic Four team actually originated in the Sacred Timeline of Earth-616, possibly in the 1960s. The theory assumes that during an experiment Reed Richards discovers the Negative Zone, an important location for the Fantastic Four in Marvel Comics, but this inadvertently drags the team through the multiverse into their alternate reality. The radiation from this journey could give them superhuman abilities, allowing them to establish themselves as a superhero team in their new world.

While trying to find a way back to their home reality of Earth-616, the members of the Fantastic Four are able to fully integrate into the retro-futuristic, 1960s-style society of their alternate reality. Early recordings of The Fantastic Four: First Steps has touted Reed Richards as a science teacher and Ben Grimm's Thing as a contestant on a dating show, and the marriage of Richards and Sue Storm was confirmedThis means that the four will lead full lives in this new world, which could potentially make a return to Earth-616 difficult.

This theory could explain a line from Doctor Strange in Phase 4. Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness. When he is introduced to John Krasinski’s Reed Richards, who is announced as the leader of the Fantastic Four, Strange jokes that they “in the charts in the 60s.” This may have been a reference to the Beatles, who were known as the Fab Four in the 1960s, but may also have indicated that Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm and Ben Grimm were well known on Earth-616 in the 1960s before they inexplicably disappeared.

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8 Clues That Marvel's Fantastic Four Movie Is Set In A Different Universe Than The MCU's Earth-616

There are a handful of exciting clues and hints that suggest Marvel Studios' Fantastic Four will be set in an alternate universe beyond Earth-616.

MCU theory means bad news for the alternate universe of “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”

This seems like a very compelling origin story for the Fantastic Four in the MCU, as it allows Marvel Studios to explore the multiverse in more detail while also connecting the First Family to the history of Earth-616.This could also enable The Fantastic Four: First Steps to address the dangers of the multiverse, as the large footprints the Fantastic Four leave in their alternate world could have catastrophic ripple effects. Reed Richards of Earth-838 warned that too many ripples in the multiverse could lead to spillovers, which spells bad news for Phase 6 of the MCU.

The theory also states that in their attempts to get home, the Fantastic Four will become aware of the planet-eater Galactus and his herald, Shalla-Bal's Silver Surfer. It's possible that if the Fantastic Four find a way to return to the 616 universe, Galactus will follow them and arrive in the main MCU timeline, where even more worlds are waiting to be devoured. A popular theory says that this journey takes place after Galactus devours the alternate Earth of The Fantastic Four: First Stepswhich makes him an enormous threat.

The preparation of further ideas by the Fantastic Four would be a perfect introduction to Avengers 5 and 6

Incursion events are expected to be of tremendous importance for the coming events of 2027. Avengers: Secret WarsGiven that ideas explored the multiverse in the run-up to Marvel Comics' Secret Wars History in 2015. Marvel Comics' Secret Wars Reed Richards' Mister Fantastic and the arch-enemy of the Fantastic Four, Doctor Doom, are also prominently featured. This means that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will probably set up Avengers: Secret Wars more than any previous MCU project, and this theory could contribute to that.

Notches have already been spotted in What if…? And Multiverse of Madnessbut it would be great if their true impact could be fully seen before Avengers: Secret Wars. The Fantastic Four: First Steps would be an excellent place for it, and leads to Secret wars, and establish Doctor Doom – who is rumored to debut in the Fantastic Four film – as the new villain of the Multiverse Saga. This is of course just speculation at this point, but it's a very attractive theory that would make for a strong introduction for the Fantastic Four.

Fantastic Four (2025)

Marvel's Fantastic Four is the first MCU film to feature Marvel's First Family in the same live-action universe as the Avengers. It introduces the Marvel Cinematic Universe versions of Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Ben Grimm, and Johnny Storm, and precedes Phase 6 with Avengers: The Kang Dynasty and Avengers: Secret Wars.

director

Matt Shakman

Release date

July 25, 2025

Studio(s)

Marvel Studios