A deleted scene from Marvel Studios' The Fantastic Four: First Steps gave fans an intriguing look into Ebon Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm, aka The Thing. Moss-Bachrach took on his second MCU role in The Fantastic Four, which came to theaters behind rave reviews from critics to kick off the MCU's Phase 6 slate. However, given the movie's relatively short runtime, fans are learning about what was left on the cutting room floor.
Marvel Studios released the first deleted scene from The Fantastic Four: First Steps. Coming in with a relatively short 1-hour-55-minute runtime, The Fantastic Four introduced MCU fans to an alternate-universe take on Marvel's First Family. While much in their universe (dubbed Earth-828) got to shine, a few memorable moments from the marketing tour did not make it to the final cut.
This scene shows a '60s-inspired TV matchmaking show titled "Let's Make a Match," with a young woman picking one of three potential suitors for a relationship. Picking the third contestant, the camera pans to the right to reveal two contestants next to a dark outline of Moss-Bachrach's Ben Grimm in full form as The Thing.
The lights come up to show Ben with a shocked look on his face before he joins the woman and waves to the crowd. The deleted 23-second scene can be seen below:
Not seen in the final cut of the movie, a version of this scene was used in an early trailer for The Fantastic Four released exclusively at San Diego Comic-Con 2024. The footage cut away before Ben was revealed in the light, although it is unclear if the footage was ever meant to be used for the film upon its release.
Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, The Fantastic Four: First Steps marks the first movie in Marvel Studios' Phase 6 slate from the Multiverse Saga. The story picks up four years into the team's operations, as they are tasked with stopping Galactus from consuming their planet in his wake of destruction. The Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters worldwide.
Will Fans See More Deleted Scenes from The Fantastic Four?
While fans have not heard of The Fantastic Four originally having a longer runtime, many were concerned when it became the latest MCU movie to be under two hours long. Over half of the Multiverse Saga's movies have been under 2 hours and 10 minutes long, with three coming in under the two-hour mark altogether.
This also comes after comments from director Matt Shakman explaining that The Fantastic Four will not get a director's cut with a longer runtime than the original film. Although Disney has seemed to want to keep the MCU's runtimes from getting too out of hand length-wise, many hope this will change moving forward into Phase 6.
At the very least, 2026's Avengers: Doomsday and 2027's Avengers: Secret Wars are expected to buck that trend. In the same saga that broke a franchise record for the shortest MCU movie, Doomsday is expected to come in at about two and a half hours long, while Secret Wars could challenge Avengers: Endgame to be the new longest film in MCU history (Endgame is 3 hours, 2 minutes long).
Whether things change anytime soon on the runtime front is still a mystery, but the hope is that Marvel will trend towards longer movies so that fans have fewer questions and cut plot points in future outings.
Richard Nebens joined The Direct in March 2020, now serving as the site's Senior Writer and also working as an assistant editor and content creator. He started his journalism career as a hobby in 2019 and is passionate about sharing news and stories from the entertainment industry, especially comic book movies, comedy, and sci-fi. Richard looks to expand his knowledge about movies and TV every day, and he is eager to stay locked into the latest releases and breaking news at every opportunity.
