Fans fear Fantastic Four is going to bomb after depressing comment from star

The Fantastic Four are making their Marvel Cinematic Universe debut this year (Picture: Marvel Entertainment)

Marvel fans have been left worried about the fate of the Fantastic Four following a comment from star John Malkovich.

The actor, 71, will star in the upcoming Marvel movie: Fantastic Four: First Steps in an as-yet unspecified role.

The blockbuster will mark the introduction of Marvel’s first family to the MCU proper, featuring Pedro Pascal as rubber-limbed scientist Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby as Invisible Woman Sue Storm.

The film also stars Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch, and The Bear star Ebon Moss-Bachrach as hulking rock-man Ben Grimm/The Thing.

Earlier this month, a teaser trailer gave viewers their first look at the heroes – which also featured a glimpse of the Being John Malkovich star amid the colourful action.

However, comments from the Con Air star has some worried that the studio might have a Galactus-sized flop on its hands.

Star John Malkovich makes his Marvel debut in Fantastic Four: First Steps (Picture: Shutterstock) Pedro Pascal, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, Joseph Quinn and Vanessa Kirby star as the famous foursome (Picture: Getty Images)

Speaking to Variety, the veteran actor described his experience on the set of the film – revealing that it promises to be quite VFX heavy.

‘Of course, it’s a very odd experience because nothing is really there except giant screens and 18 epic cranes,’ the Red star said of the shoot.

‘It’s quite odd in that way, but it was fun. The cast was fun. We’ll see how it goes.’

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Writing on social media, fans shared their thoughts on John’s comments – and many felt it didn’t bode well for the film’s quality.

‘”We’ll see how it goes” doesn’t sound like he has too much confidence in it lmao,’ wrote dissidentwest on X.

‘That sounds like a no-hope statement,’ agreed alex_de_large.

‘Maybe give actors something to actually act around and with? Built stages are actually very nice to look at,’ ruminated Dereksthoughtsx.

‘He’s hedging his bets ???? Fantastic Four is going to bomb,’ bemoaned onBrandVibes.

‘So depressing. Will Marvel ever endeavour to make quality, grand scale productions? Or are they content with the laziest anti-art slop imaginable?’ asked demaris_webb.

‘Great more CG slop, Superman will be no different,’ predicted M7_Reaper.

Bearded John appears in an as-yet unknown role (Picture: Marvel Studios)

The film’s visuals have already attracted controversy after fans accused the studio of using AI to generate the film’s poster.

The speculation began when fans noticed that the same face appeared twice, and some of the people were missing fingers.

While Marvel Studios has admitted to using AI before – in the opening sequence of its Disney+ series Secret Invasion – a representative told Deadline that AI wasn’t used on this occasion.

Pedro plays genius scientist Reed Richards (Picture: Marvel Entertainment) Vanessa stars as Sue Storm (Picture: Marvel Entertainment) Comment nowAre you excited for Fantastic Four: First Steps?Comment Now

Fittingly enough, this marks the fourth reboot of the series – almost thirty years since B-movie producer Roger Corman first adapted the property into one of the worst superhero films of all time.

Directed by Oley Sassone, this 1994 film went unreleased – having been made in a cynical move to prevent the studio’s rights from expiring.

Two further films were made by 20th Century Studios in 2005 and 2007 – Tim Story’s Fantastic Four and its sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer, which starred Ioan Gruffudd, Jessica Alba, Chris Evans and Michael Chiklis as the superpowered family.

The property was then rebooted in 2015 with an infamous flop directed by Josh Trank and starring Miles Teller, Kate Mara, Jamie Bell and Michael B. Jordan.

Captain America star Chris Evans previously starred as the Fantastic Four’s Johnny Storm (Picture: Shutterstock)

Directed by Matt Shakman, First Steps hopes to redress the balance – kicking off Phase Six of the MCU in style.

Set in a retro-futuristic 1960s America, the film follows the four heroes as they attempt to protect their planet from a cosmic being known as Galactus.

In addition to its leading foursome, the film will also feature performances from Ralph Ineson, Julia Garner, Paul Walter Hauser, Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles.

With this next phase of the superhero franchise promising the introduction of Fantastic Four nemesis Doctor Doom – to be played by Robert Downey Jr. in an upcoming sequel – the MCU’s future now rests on the success of its first family.

Fantastic Four: First Steps is released on July 25, 2025.

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