The Fantastic Four: First Steps made history by becoming the first critically praised Fantastic Four film, scoring an 86% on Rotten Tomatoes. As with any movie, though, there were some gripes people had about it. A common complaint was the scarce use of Reed Richards' stretchy powers. The super-scientist showed off his abilities to great results at certain points throughout the movie, but they were definitely not as prominently utilitized as Sue's or Johnny's.
Luckily, Marvel has now given fans an awesome new look at Reed using his powers... but in an amusingly unexpected way. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now streaming on Disney+. In honor of that, Marvel Studios released a Thanksgiving promo for the film, featuring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach and Joseph Quinn.
The ad features the four actors huddling together for a selfie taken by Pascal. Naturally, fitting four people into a selfie is no easy task, so Pascal stretches his arm to take the picture. Having pulled that off, the actor says: "I am feeling fantastic." (Cue the Miles Teller 2015 Fantastic Four meme...) Check out the promo below:
The post was captioned with: "Gather your family (and friends) together to stream Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Now on Disney+."
It's quite unexpected to get a new display of Reed's abilities in a promo like this one, but it's a welcome surprise nonetheless. Out of all the Fantastic Four members, Reed's powerset is perhaps one of the two with the most potential for visual uniqueness, right behind Sue's. There seems to be a false perception online that stretching abilities are too silly for live-action, but that couldn't be further from the truth if well utilized.
In the comics and some of the movies, Reed has used his abilities with remarkable creativity. A good example of that is Tim Story's 2005 Fantastic Four. In it, Ioan Gruffud's Reed turned himself into a giant wheel, bounced off the ground and subsequently expanded himself to the size of a giant, gooey tarp to wrap Doom around with.
Realistically speaking, the versatility of Reed's abilities makes him one the most powerful heroes in the Marvel Universe. Thus, Marvel Studios will hopefully fully embrace his powerset in Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Secret Wars.
Speaking to Comicbook.com in April 2025, Pedro Pascal was asked who he thought was the most physically challenging character between Reed Richards' and Din Djarin, The Mandalorain. The actor revealed his thought process behind the Fantastic Four leader's powers (both physical and mental):
"With Reed, his body may stretch, but this is a brain character. [...] I thought of the brilliance of an octopus. Not in any, like, literal, physical translative way, but in a kind of... put it into my subconscious."
Then, during an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, First Steps screenwriter Eric Pearson revealed that director Matt Shakman wanted to limit Reed's abilities to more realistic levels, which led to the scene of Mr. Fantastic nearly beig pulled apart by Galactus. The scribe explained:
"I don't know if it made you uncomfortable, the stretch [of Reed Richards]. [Director] Matt [Shakman] wasn't allergic to stretching, but he was like, 'I want to know my rules for stretching and I don't want it to be too crazy cartoony. I want it to be within the physiology of the human body.' So I was like, 'Well, if you want that, then let's test the limits.' And it felt like [Reed Richards actor] Pedro [Pascal]’s ribcage was coming apart. You want the moments where it feels like they’re totally screwed and they're going to lose."
The Fantastic Four will make their next MCU appearance in Avengers: Doomsday, coming to theaters on December 18, 2026.
What did you think about this new promo for The Fantastic Four: First Steps? How would you like to see Reed use his powers in Doomsday? Drop your thoughts in the comments!