A blink-and-you'll-miss-it background detail in the Fantastic Four trailer might be hinting at how the team joins the present-day MCU

At just 1 minute 38 seconds, the Fantastic Four: First Steps trailer doesn't give away all that much – unless you care deeply about when Marvel's First Family sit down for dinner on Sundays or what not-so-'60s hairstyles everyone is sporting in the movie.

Hidden amongst all the exposition ("Before we went up the first time, you couldn't turn invisible, Ben wasn't a rock, and Johnny never caught fire"), though, is a blink-and-you'll-miss-it moment that might just give away how the titular team will eventually join the present-day MCU...

At 0:39, Pedro Pascal's Reed Richards can be seen scribbling formulas and equations on a chalkboard and, if you look carefully, you'll spot a reference to something called a 'multiverse bridge' in his notes. "Entrance" and "exit" it reads on either side of the diagram, which has lead many fans to conclude that that'll be the way Mr. Fantastic and co wind up on the Sacred Timeline.

Not only would that explain why the spandex-loving do-gooders haven't got involved in Avengers-style shenanigans before, it could also make sense of why Doctor Doom looks like Robert Downey Jr's Iron Man in future films. (It's long been suspected that he'll be a Tony Stark variant of some sort).

"Council of Reeds is coming," one excited fan wrote on Twitter, referencing a organization in the comics that consists of multiversal counterparts of Reed Richards – specifically those who have invented the Bridge, a sophisticated portal that enables someone to jump between realities.

In the source material, Galactus, the cosmic villain in Fantastic Four: First Steps, consumes planets to sustain his life force. Might he destroy the F4's in the new movie? Leaving them no choice but to flee to another timeline? Earth-616, perhaps?

They wouldn't be the first Marvel heroes to be given a second chance in that way. Deadpool and Wolverine explored something similar through Hugh Jackman's Logan, who found peace again in the Merc with a Mouth's world after years of punishing himself over the death of his fellow X-Men in his former timeline. Monica Rambeau also ended up elsewhere at the end of The Marvels, meeting Hank McCoy AKA Beast and a variant of her mother, Maria, in the post-credits scene.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases on July 25, 2025. While we wait, check out our all the upcoming Marvel movies and shows on the way, as well as our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order.