The MCU’s The Fantastic Four: First Steps is one of the most hotly anticipated movies on its release slate, but Marvel made sure first to kill off Fox’s Fantastic Four just before filming started. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the third live-action iteration of the team to make it to the big screen. Pressure is mounting for Marvel to do its First Family justice as the last two Fantastic Four movies failed to inspire much confidence. At the same time, the studio will be keen to keep momentum after Deadpool & Wolverine has helped to reignite overall enthusiasm for the MCU timeline.
Custom image by Ollie Bradley
While Fantastic Four: First Steps will feature the MCU’s definitive take on the team, Deadpool & Wolverine was the second MCU movie to feature a Fantastic Four character. Deadpool & Wolverine’s big cameo roster was in no small part the result of the movie featuring the Void – a location where many notable figures found themselves after being pruned from their own cinematic universe. Chris Evans’ Johnny Storm was one such character, making him the second of The Fantastic Four to make his way to the MCU after Reed Richards. Nevertheless, his appearance was cut short in a decidedly gruesome manner.
Deadpool & Wolverine Killed Chris Evans’s Johnny Storm From Fox’s Fantastic Four
Chris Evans’ first Marvel movie role was as Johnny Storm/the Human Torch in 2005’s Fantastic Four and 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. Thanks to Disney’s acquisition of Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios was at liberty to debut this character in the MCU as it did with several X-Men characters from Fox’s franchise. Unfortunately for this Johnny Blaze variant, however, his MCU debut was brought to a swift and gory end as the movie’s arch-villain, Cassandra Nova, tore the skin from his body after Pyro’s pyrokinesis quashed his flame powers.
| Johnny Storm In Live Action | ||
|---|---|---|
| Movie | Year | Actor |
| The Fantastic Four (Unreleased) | 1994 | Jay Underwood |
| Fantastic Four | 2005 | Chris Evans |
| Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer | 2007 | |
| Fantastic Four | 2015 | Michael B. Jordan |
| Fantastic Four: First Steps | 2025 | Joseph Quinn |
It was an unceremonious, if hilarious, end to Evans’ Johnny Storm, whose characterization as an arrogant hothead in Fox’s Fantastic Four was on full display in Deadpool & Wolverine’s post-credits scene. In doing so, Marvel has emphatically cleared the stage for its own Johnny Storm, portrayed by Stranger Things’ Joseph Quinn. The timing is particularly conspicuous, as filming for Fantastic Four: First Steps began less than a week after Deadpool & Wolverine hit theaters.
Marvel’s Fantastic Four: First Steps Started Filming Last Week
The Fantastic Four: First Steps began filming on Tuesday, July 30. This was a mere five days after Deadpool & Wolverine was released, and Evans’ Human Torch was gruesomely executed to make way for Quinn’s take on the character. Similar fates befell many of Fox’s X-Men characters in Deadpool & Wolverine, helping to draw a line beneath their cinematic legacy while clearing a path for the new MCU-based iterations of the characters. Whether it was intentional or not, the violent move from one Johnny Storm to another feels particularly brutal.
Nevertheless, the hype surrounding The Fantastic Four: First Steps is at an all-time high following test footage shown exclusively at this year’s SDCC. Casting The Fantastic Four was an important step for Marvel, and its choices seem to have struck the right chord – especially when it comes to the comic-accurate Galactus set to be portrayed by Ralph Ineson. It is unlikely that any other Fantastic Four variants will appear between now and when The Fantastic Four: First Steps is released in July 2025, with the path now wide open for Marvel to deliver the all-new Johnny Storm and his team.
