The Marvel Cinematic Universe’s latest film, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, is just around the corner, marking the iconic superhero team’s official entrance into the cinematic universe after previously falling under Fox’s ownership.
According to The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ director, Matt Shakman, the film takes place in its own universe separate from the MCU’s history. Its self-contained universe means there aren’t many films directly tied to The Fantastic Four: First Steps, but viewers can still use our guide to find a list of recommended Marvel movies to watch beforehand for additional context.
Avengers: Endgame (2019)
Avengers: Endgame follows Tony Stark (Robert Downey, Jr.) and his fellow surviving Avengers teammates on their mission to bring back the population wiped out by Thanos (Josh Brolin). It’s one of the most defining moments of the modern cinematic universe and The Avengers, which could be useful for The Fantastic Four: First Steps viewers, considering the Fantastic Four are not expected to stay in their own universe and are confirmed for Avengers: Doomsday.
Avengers: Endgame is also potentially important because it explains Stark’s fate in the MCU. While Stark won’t be a part of the MCU going forward, Downey will return as Fantastic Four villain Doctor Doom, rumored to appear in the Fantastic Four: First Steps. So far, it’s unknown if the MCU will tie Stark to Doom or if Downey will even appear in the new movie, but it wouldn’t hurt to be prepared by knowing Stark’s MCU fate.
Eternals (2021)
Eternals is one of the most relevant films to The Fantastic Four: First Steps because it set the stage for Galactus’ MCU entrance. Chloé Zhao’s Eternals introduced the Celestials to the MCU, as these cosmic entities were responsible for sending the immortal Eternals to Earth. Throughout the film, the Eternals learn startling truths about the Celestials' true plans for them and Earth. The film paved the way for Galactus by introducing cosmic beings into the MCU and bringing the Celestials, Galactus's enemies, into the fold. With Galactus (Ralph Ineson) appearing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, Eternals offers a great introduction to cosmic beings closely related to the villain.
The MCU’s Multiverse Movies
Viewers interested in understanding how The Fantastic Four: First Steps takes place in its own universe may want to watch the MCU’s multiverse movies. Spider-Man: No Way Home is the first MCU film to significantly feature the multiverse, as it sees Peter Parker (Tom Holland) accidentally open a multiversal breach through which variants of Spider-Man (Andrew Garfield and Toby Maguire) and his enemies arrive. The film serves as a good introduction to the multiverse. At the same time, Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness delves deeper into explaining alternate universes by featuring Doctor Strange (Benedict Cumberbatch) traveling through the multiverse itself in pursuit of the Scarlet Witch (Elizabeth Olsen).
Lastly, Deadpool & Wolverine features the multiverse and the transition of several characters previously under Fox ownership, including Wolverine (Hugh Jackman), into the MCU via variants and parallel universes. All of the multiverse movies are a great way for viewers to get a feel for how the cinematic universe has been slowly bringing Fox’s and Sony’s heroes under the MCU umbrella, paving the way for the Fantastic Four’s highly anticipated debut.
Thunderbolts* (2025)
Thunderbolts* is the most recent MCU movie and sees Yelena Belova (Florence Pugh) and an unlikely crew of anti-heroes join forces to investigate Valentina Allegra de Fontaine (Julia Louis-Dreyfus) and her mysterious Sentry experiments. It is the only MCU movie with a direct tie-in to The Fantastic Four: First Steps via its post-credits scene. In the scene, the Thunderbolts team receives a distress signal from an inter-dimensional spacecraft with the Fantastic Four logo on it. The scene seemingly depicts the Fantastic Four’s entrance into the MCU timeline, with most viewers theorizing that it takes place after The Fantastic Four: First Steps. While it’s not entirely clear when the scene takes place, it teases the Fantastic Four’s future in the MCU.
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