After years on the sidelines, the Fantastic Four are finally taking their first steps into Marvel’s Cinematic Universe. It’s an exciting time for fans of Marvel’s First Family, though that anticipation has been muddled by speculation. The Fantastic Four: First Steps won’t be an origin story for the super-squad, nor will it make any attempt to fold the characters into Marvel’s main timeline. Instead, the Fantastic Four will begin their adventures in a parallel universe, and eventually make their way to Earth-616 in time for a big team-up in Avengers: Doomsday. That premise has left fans busy with theories about how Fantastic Four will bridge the gap to Doomsday, but it’s getting even harder to parse out the timeline with other mysteries in the mix.
Back when Marvel first unveiled the film’s title, many assumed “First Steps” was a reference to space travel. But as we got more info about Fantastic Four, speculation swirled about Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) and whether she could be pregnant. Marvel has since answered that theory in the affirmative: the “first steps” in question will likely be Franklin Richards’, and Sue’s first child with Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) may be much more important than anyone could have guessed.
