‘Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Originally Had a Much Better Ending (Photos)

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The ending of The Fantastic Four: First Steps, released on July 25, 2025, sparked a lot of discussion among viewers. Although the film aimed to re-establish Marvel’s First Family within the Marvel Cinematic Universe, some fans felt the conclusion was unsatisfying. Recently discovered deleted scenes reveal the movie was initially intended to have a more cohesive beginning and ending. This has led to renewed debate about whether Marvel should have followed through with its original plan, particularly as the Fantastic Four are scheduled to appear in Avengers: Doomsday next year.

The movie Fantastic Four: First Steps was originally intended to begin and end with a running gag about the team constantly walking off a talk show hosted by Ted Gilbert. Fans figured this out by watching trailers that showed the Fantastic Four on the show at the beginning of the film. However, those opening scenes didn’t make the final cut, and the joke only appeared at the very end.

The video reveals how similar the initial scenes were, but they were later broken up and rearranged for the final opening sequence.

The movie even featured details like the live audience from the Ted Gilbert show. While the Richards family was well-liked at the start and finish of the film, it’s crucial to remember that most viewers worldwide actually wanted them to give up their baby, Franklin, to Galactus during the main story.

The movie features a strong visual parallel between the opening and closing scenes. The initial sequence shows each team member receiving the call to action, mirrored by a similar shot of the family together at the film’s end, including Franklin. Interestingly, although it appeared in promotional materials, the very first shot wasn’t actually included in the final cut of the movie.

Evidence suggests Marvel Studios removed a longer opening scene from the Ted Gilbert Show. A deleted scene confirms this, showing Sue and Reed getting ready to present at the “Fantastic Four Day” event backstage.

Lost footage reveals The Thing, played by Ebon Moss-Bachrach, shaving as part of his preparation for the show. It also shows him approaching Johnny Storm, played by Joseph Quinn, who was in the process of getting his makeup applied.

The extra scene at the beginning highlights Johnny Storm’s playful flirting, a well-known part of his character, and something viewers wished they’d seen more of in the Marvel movie.

The movie likely would have started with the Fantastic Four battling the Red Ghost, a character played by John Malkovich.

Director Matt Shakman revealed that a scene featuring the Red Ghost was removed from the movie Fantastic Four: First Steps, bringing the final runtime to 1 hour and 55 minutes.

Removing the Red Ghost fight meant the filmmakers also had to change a joke, and in doing so, they lost a clever storytelling element that would have connected the start and finish of the movie.

Many viewers thought the ending felt incomplete and unsatisfying without this element, and it diminished the movie’s overall appeal and cleverness.

The conclusion of First Steps has faced criticism before. After the team defeats Galactus – aided by the Silver Surfer – Sue Storm almost dies, but her son, Franklin Richards, saves her using powers the family doesn’t fully grasp. Many fans were surprised the movie didn’t lead directly into the post-credits scene from Thunderbolts, which showed the Excelsior spaceship entering Earth-616’s atmosphere.

The upcoming movie, Avengers: Doomsday, is expected to include a scene that happens after the one shown at the end of First Steps. That earlier scene introduced Doctor Doom in live-action and showed his interest in Franklin Richards.

Fantastic Four: Release the Shakman Cut? 

Because The Fantastic Four: First Steps underwent extensive editing, a director’s cut could greatly improve the viewing experience for fans. Important scenes – featuring the Red Ghost, a private conversation between Reed and Sue, and a tour of the Baxter Building – were either cut short or completely removed, which hurt the development of the characters and made the story harder to follow.

Releasing a complete director’s cut would bring back important scenes, creating a more complete and enjoyable story, and helping viewers feel more connected to the Fantastic Four.

So, I heard from Shakman himself that a lot of the scenes they cut from the movie are still pretty rough around the edges – they just never finished the visual effects. That probably means we won’t see a full, extended cut anytime soon. But even if they released some of that footage, it’d be awesome to get a peek at what the original vision for the film was before all the editing happened.

The new movie First Steps had a slow start on Disney+, receiving only 4.9 million views in its first five days. This is the lowest number for any major Marvel movie released in theaters and then streamed on Disney+. While adding back scenes that were previously cut might attract more viewers, it’s unlikely to significantly change the numbers.

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2026-01-03 23:37