Fantastic Four’s The Thing gets its first look in leaked set photos with a comic book accurate retro aesthetic

It's clobberin' time! A leaked photo from the set of Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four movie has been revealed, giving our first look at The Thing.

The image, posted on Twitter by Cosmic Media, shows one-quarter of the new Fantastic Four family Ben Grimm AKA The Thing in a retro blue-and-white suit. His rocky head, which is being put in place by crew members, features a thick comic book-accurate brow and round exterior. Check out the full post below.

From this first look alone, we can see that the new Thing is vastly different from the '00s movies Fantastic Four and Rise of The Silver Surfer, as well as Fantastic Four 2015 in terms of his rounded body and thick upper brow. This tells us that the movie is sticking with the ‘60s theme as this is what The Thing looks like at that time in the comics, known as the prehistoric era.

The most interesting part of the image however is that it looks like the movie will not be relying fully on VFX to bring this character to life, but are working with real tangible costumes and prosthetics. In the upcoming movie, Grimm is played by The Bear’s Ebon Moss-Bachrach, although it is unclear whether the star is actually inside the rocky suit here. 

In the comics, Grimm is a former astronaut who gets exposed to high levels of cosmic radiation whilst in space, turning him into a super-strong boulder-like monster, but a hero nonetheless. Alongside his three other chosen family members Reed Richards AKA Mr Fantastic, Sue Storm AKA The Invisible Woman, and Johnny Storm AKA The Human Torch, The Fantastic Four were born.

The rest of the team in the new movie directed by WandaVision’s Matt Shakman, officially titled The Fantastic Four: The First Steps, includes Pedro Pascal as Reed, Vanessa Kirby as Sue, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny. We are yet to see first looks at the rest of the team, but Marvel’s cast announcement on Valentine's Day this year featured a poster that showed animated versions of the four in their blue suits in a retro setting.

The rest of the cast includes Ralph Ineson as Galactus, Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne, and John Malkovich.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps releases in theaters on July 25, 2025. Fantastic Four 2005 is available to stream on Disney Plus. For more, check out our guide on how to watch Marvel movies in order, or keep up to date with upcoming MCU movies and TV shows heading your way in 2024 and beyond.