The Marvel movies and shows to watch before The Fantastic Four: First Steps – a spoiler-free guide

The Fantastic Four: First Steps is the next big-screen adventure from Marvel Studios, and it brings Marvel's First Family to the MCU for the first time. But, as with any superhero movie, there's always the same question: what do you need to watch before you head to the multiplex?

Well, the short answer is "nothing." The movie is kicking off a brand new era as the start of Marvel Phase 6 and Kevin Feige has confirmed that "there's no homework required" before viewing. "It's all new," the Marvel Studios president said during a recent press conference. "It's new characters in a new world to our universe. It's our 37th MCU film and yet, really, the first standalone that we've done, setting up its own new, established universe."

But just because Reed Richards and co. haven't existed in the MCU before, it doesn't mean it's their first time on screen. There were multiple iterations of the superpowered quartet when the characters were still owned by 20th Century Fox and, while these movies aren't mandatory viewing homework, you might want to check out what's come before. And there's also an excuse to rewatch one of Marvel's best TV shows if you're interested in seeing what director Matt Shakman has done in the MCU previously… So, for your complete guide on what to watch before The Fantastic Four: First Steps, look no further.

The Marvel movies and shows to watch before The Fantastic Four: First Steps

Fantastic Four (2005)

Marvel's First Family made their big-screen debut in 2005 in Fantastic Four, directed by Tim Story, with Ioan Gruffudd starring as Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic, Jessica Alba as Sue Storm/Invisible Woman, Chris Evans as Johnny Storm/Human Torch, and Michael Chiklis as Ben Grimm/the Thing (Evans briefly reprised his role as Human Torch in last year's Deadpool and Wolverine as a variant discarded in the Void). Unlike First Steps, the movie follows how the foursome come to terms with their newfound powers after a failed space mission to study cosmic clouds. The late Julian McMahon plays Victor von Doom, the movie's antagonist.

Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer

A sequel to 2005's Fantastic Four, Rise of the Silver Surfer followed in 2007. The plot of this movie resembles what we can expect from First Steps a little more closely, as it also involves the world-devouring Galactus and (as the name suggests) his herald, the Silver Surfer – although it's the latter who plays the bigger role in the movie, whereas Galactus is set up as the big bad of First Steps. Laurence Fishburne voices the Silver Surfer, while the central quartet and McMahon's Doom return for round two. A third film was planned, but ultimately cancelled.

Fantastic Four (2015)

10 years after the Fantastic Four first suited up in theaters, 20th Century Fox rebooted Marvel's First Family. This time around, Miles Teller plays Reed Richards, with Kate Mara as Sue Storm, Michael B. Jordan as Johnny Storm, and Jamie Bell as Ben Grimm. Rather than being established scientists, the foursome are teenagers instead, and they gain their powers after travelling through a portal to a parallel dimension rather than on a mission to space. The movie was critically panned and tanked at the box office, too.

WandaVision

First Steps isn't director Matt Shakman's first Marvel rodeo: he previously directed all nine episodes of WandaVision, starring Elizabeth Olsen as Wanda Maximoff/Scarlet Witch and Paul Bettany as Vision, on Disney Plus back in 2021. It seems unlikely that there'll be any narrative crossover between the two projects, but watching the show will give you an idea of Shakman's MCU directing style, especially with the show's retro vibe and Fantastic Four's retro-futuristic setting. Plus, there's never a bad time to (re)watch WandaVision.

The Fantastic Four: First Steps arrives in UK cinemas on July 24 and US theaters on July 25. For more, check out our guide to the other upcoming Marvel movies and shows, or get ready for an MCU rewatch with our guide to how to watch the Marvel movies in order.