Kevin Feige Teases the Fantastic Four in ‘Avengers: Doomsday’: ‘It’s a Thrill’

Reed, Sue, Johnny, and Ben: Welcome to the Marvel Cinematic Universe.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now in theaters, finally bringing Marvel’s First Family into the MCU. Directed by Matt Shakman, the film introduces Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn), and Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as the heroes of a stylish, 1960s-inspired universe.

It's a major moment for the quartet: The Fantastic Four have been adapted for film and television before, but First Steps marks their official induction into the MCU. And it’s just getting started: Up next, Pascal, Kirby, Quinn, and Moss-Bachrach will return for the upcoming film Avengers: Doomsday, appearing alongside other Marvel heavyweights like the Avengers and the X-Men. 

With First Steps in theaters now, Marvel.com sat down with producer and Marvel Studios president Kevin Feige for a behind-the-scenes look at bringing the Fantastic Four to life — and what the future might hold for them in the MCU.

MARVEL.COM: The Fantastic Four have such a legacy in the history of Marvel. What does it mean to you to finally get to bring them into the MCU?

KEVIN FEIGE: It means everything. I’ve said before it was a dream we had stopped dreaming for many years. To be able to bring them into the MCU, when that became possible with the Fox acquisition that Disney made, it felt incredible. The truth is they have been a missing element for years. No Marvel universe is complete without Marvel’s First Family. If you look at many of the storylines we adapted already with the Infinity Saga, in its comic counterparts, the Fantastic Four were all over them. The Fantastic Four were in CIVIL WAR, and the Fantastic Four were in all of those storylines. So the fact that they’re missing no more is very exciting.

MARVEL.COM: This film is set in another universe, Earth-828, which has this wonderful, retro-futuristic vibe. What was fun about getting to play in this 1960s-inspired universe?

KEVIN FEIGE: It was a dream. I’ve been around long enough to remember early conversations that never ended up coming to fruition on the first incarnations of the Fox Fantastic Four movies. [Ant-Man director] Peyton Reed had been attached at one point, and he had made a film called Down with Love, which is a great movie with that sort of mid-century thing. Peyton would say, “Wouldn’t it be amazing to set Fantastic Four in that world? But no one will ever let us do that.” And then 20-plus years later, we can allow ourselves to do it!

Kasra [Farahani], our production designer, had done one of my favorite production design things we’d ever done, which was Loki. [I loved] the look of the TVA and the look of that series. We thought that if we were lucky enough and he agreed to come be the production designer of this movie, he could just go wild. I love that people are responding to the Baxter Building, the lab, the kitchen, the Fantasticar, the ship. And it’s also exciting because Kasra was building those sets not just for Fantastic Four but for the Avengers movie that we’re filming now.

MARVEL.COM: In many ways, this film is also a love letter to the legendary Jack Kirby. Why was it important to you to pay tribute to him with this film?

KEVIN FEIGE: Jack Kirby is, I think, one of the greatest storytellers and artists of the 20th century. What he did for Marvel has already been seen in every [movie] we’ve ever done. But we wanted it to be more than just a passing tip of the hat. There are direct lines from his pencil that he drew with at his drawing board by himself, pouring his universe-spanning imagination on to the page. There are direct lines from there into this film. The Silver Surfer and the way she moves is a testament to some of his line work and his story work.

[We wanted] this movie to be an unabashed celebration of Mr. Kirby, who I think should be spoken in the same breath as Stan Lee at every moment. He was never as vocal or as at the forefront as Stan was. He also passed away long ago, and he didn’t get to see any of what his work would inspire. The fact that his family’s already seen the movie is exciting. I hope they see it as the love letter that it’s meant to be.

MARVEL.COM: Is there something you got to do for the first time on this movie that really excited you?

KEVIN FEIGE:  Well, it all seemed like firsts because we’ve never been able to play with any of these characters before. But [I loved] setting it in its own reality and its own universe. We saw a little bit of that mid-century look in WandaVision, and a little bit of it inspired the work that Kasra did for Loki. But I’m a big fan of Disneyland and Tomorrowland and of the World’s Fairs of 1939 and 1964 and that aesthetic of optimism for the future. It’s the idea that the future will bring us to good places. I think that’s lost every few generations. I think we might be in that cycle right now, where it’s been forgotten that the future should be an exciting thing, not a scary thing. So, it was fun to make a movie about: What if the promise of that future held?

MARVEL.COM: Thinking back to production, do you have a favorite or most memorable day on set?

KEVIN FEIGE: Walking into the Baxter Building for the first time was exciting. Particularly Reed and Sue’s living area because the design is just awesome. It’s a reminder that they are not just Super Heroes. They’re not just astronauts. They’re not just gigantic celebrities. They’re a couple, and they have a bathroom, and they get ready to go to bed at night, which is as human as it gets. So, walking on to those sets was very exciting.

And then seeing Julia [Garner] up on her gigantic crane, delivering her first lines as the Herald, that was also very, very exciting.

MARVEL.COM: This film directly leads into Avengers: Doomsday, which you’re filming now. What can you tell us about how the Fantastic Four will fit in with the Avengers and the X-Men?

KEVIN FEIGE: That’s always fun. The fun of an Avengers movie is introducing people to each other and seeing how very different personalities get along. In the case of a movie that involves the threat of worlds literally colliding, it’s fun to see them visit each other’s homes. So with the Baxter Building set, let’s say it had four or five people in it at most in the Fantastic Four movie. And it’s got a heck of a lot more people in it [in Doomsday]. It’s a thrill to see that interaction. And it’s surreal for me, who’s been around for 25 years.

MARVEL.COM: I was going to say: You started your career working on those original X-Men movies. What does it mean to revisit some of those characters in Doomsday?

KEVIN FEIGE: It was another dream that we just didn’t think about for many years. Deadpool & Wolverine scratched the surface of that. And now, we’re really delving into it with Doomsday.

Marvel Studios’ The Fantastic Four: First Steps is in theaters now.