New concept art revealed some unexpected Star Wars inspiration behind one key Fantastic Four location. Earlier this summer, fans were finally treated to the MCU's take on Marvel's First Family. As a part of this, director Matt Shakman introduced the first comic-accurate take on iconic Marvel villain Galactus and his world-eating ship, the Taa II.
Galactus and his space-faring vessel brought a sense of scale never before seen in the MCU. For that gargantuan feeling, Shakman and the Fantastic Four: First Steps had to look in a few different places, bringing in inspiration from Godzilla movies, 2001: A Space Odyssey, and even Star Wars.
In a recent post on his personal Instagram page, Fantastic Four: First Steps concept artist Thomas Ducrest shared some new concept art from the film, including an exciting mention of another stalwart of sci-fi cinema.
In describing working on Galactus' world-eating Taa II ship, Ducrest wrote, "a lot of efforts were put into giving it 'Death Star-like' details:"
"Another element of 'Fantastic Four' I had the chance to design under the direction of the amazing Kasra Farahani was the vessel Galactus uses to arrive on earth! Its role is quite short in the movie, but a lot of efforts were put into giving it 'Death Star-like' details all the while keeping an impactful silhouette."
Fantastic Four: First Steps is now playing in theaters worldwide. Coming from WandaVision director Matt Shakman, the latest MCU blockbuster sets itself in an alternate retro-futurist world, where the iconic Fantastic Four team must grapple with the threat of the mysterious Galactus arriving on their doorstep to eat their version of Earth.
The movie received mostly positive reviews from fans and earned a respectable $515 million at the global box office. First Steps stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn as its central team, with Ralph Ineson taking on the role of Galactus.
Fantastic Four's Star Wars Inspiration Makes Complete Sense
Fans had assumed the Death Star (which has a new, controversial LEGO set coming based on it) had been at least part of the inspiration for Galactus' Fantastic Four vessel, but to hear it said expressly by one of the people behind its design will do a lot for fans.
Director Matt Shakman talked a lot about getting the scale of Galactus right heading into the new Fantastic Four film. He discussed the strategic changing of the movie's aspect ratio and a few other key tricks the team was going to do to make the villain feel as big and imposing as possible.
So, it would make sense that the Death Star, one of the most intimidating pieces of sci-fi movie-making ever, would factor into the character's gargantuan design. This is especially the case given that the Death Star and the Taa II were designed for the same thing: The destruction of entire planets.
Much like the iconic Star Wars space station, fans are introduced to the Taa II right as it shows off its full planet-consuming capabilities, which immediately evokes a sense of dread in the audience.
While the Taa II looks quite different from the Death Star itself, the connection is for sure there, and it was a smart influence to use for those working on Fantastic Four.
