Fantastic Four's Reported Runtime Would Set a Franchise Record

The Fantastic Four: First Stepshasn't even hit theaters yet, and it's already breaking records. An updated runtime for the next Marvel Cinematic Universe movie has been revealed ahead of its theatrical release in July.

According to AMC Theatres, The Fantastic Four: First Steps has an official runtime of one hour and 55 minutes (115 mins). This is an updated runtime for the MCU movie, as the theater chain's website had previously listed a runtime of 130 minutes for First Steps. At 115 minutes, The Fantastic Four: First Steps will also be the longest movie based on Marvel's First Family ever made. Its runtime vastly exceeds any of the previous four adaptations, which clocked in at 90 mins (Constantin Film's unreleased 1994 movie), 92 mins (Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer), 100 mins (Josh Trank's 2015 reboot), and 106 mins (2005's Fantastic Four).

Portraying Marvel's First Family in First Steps are Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic), Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman), Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch), and Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing). They are joined by a supporting cast that includes Julia Garner as Shalla-Bal/Silver Surfer, Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Matthew Wood as H.E.R.B.I.E., Mark Gatiss as Ted Gilbert, and Sarah Niles as Lynne, with John Malkovich, Paul Walter Hauser, and Natasha Lyonne cast in undisclosed roles.

First Steps Takes Viewers to a New Reality in the MCU

With the exception of Deadpool & Wolverine, every single MCU movie to date has been set on "the sacred timeline," an in-universe term used to describe the main Earth/timeline of the MCU. Come July, Deadpool & Wolverine will have some company, as The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be set in a retro-futuristic 1960s reality. The marketing for the movie has heavily leaned into this aesthetic, with fans excited to see an MCU movie that looks and feels so radically different from its predecessors.

In First Steps, Marvel's First Family will "face their most daunting challenge yet. Forced to balance their roles as heroes with the strength of their family bond, they must defend Earth from a ravenous space god called Galactus and his enigmatic Herald, Silver Surfer. And if Galactus’ plan to devour the entire planet and everyone on it weren’t bad enough, it suddenly gets very personal,” reads the official synopsis for the forthcoming superhero blockbuster.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the third and final MCU movie released in 2025, as well as the only movie that is expected to connect heavily to the ongoing Multiverse arc, specifically Avengers: Doomsday. While Thunderbolts*'s post-credits scene did tease the arrival of the Fantastic Four to the sacred timeline (although maybe not First Steps' F4, according to Kevin Feige), the rest of the movie was a surprisingly poignant and grounded film about a group of superpowered anti-heroes coming together to overcome their respective past traumas. Regardless of which Fantastic Four team was teased in Thunderbolts*, the First Steps version will meet the New Avengers in Doomsday, as the main casts for both movies are confirmed to appear in the superhero crossover.

Directed by Matt Shakman, The Fantastic Four: First Steps opens in theaters on July 25, as the first film in Phase 6 of the MCU.

Source: AMC Theatres