The Fantastic Four: First Steps Disney+ release will fix one major problem with its digital release. When the 2025 MCU blockbuster arrived on digital storefronts in mid-September, fans were surprised to find that it did not include the IMAX aspect ratio changes that had made the movie a hit in theaters this summer. Instead, the film maintained the same 16:9 aspect ratio, taking away the feeling of scale that was touted so heavily by director Matt Shakman in the lead-up to release.
Eagled-eyed fans have spotted the IMAX Enhanced badge on the Fantastic Four: First Steps Disney+ landing page, meaning the upcoming Disney+ release will feature the expanded aspect ratios that fans saw in theaters. No official date has been announced for the new MCU epic; however, whenever it is released, audiences can expect to watch it at home in all its IMAX glory.
Disney uses the IMAX Enhanced sticker to promote its films that use (at least in moments) the full IMAX aspect ratio from its theatrical release.
Fantastic Four notably did not feature the expanded aspect ratio in its digital release, leaving some to wonder whether the same fate would befall its Disney+ release as well.
Director Matt Shakman was clear in the lead-up to First Steps' theatrical debut that its use of IMAX was very intentional. Instead of simply showing off more of the frame, Shakman revealed that the change in aspect ratio was employed to make the movie's towering villain, Galactus, even more terrifying.
"We designed the movie to be entirely in IMAX," Shakman said before release, positing that when Galactus appears on-screen, "the world adjusts" thanks to the expanded IMAX screen:
"We designed the movie to be entirely in IMAX. You're going to space, but also you're in Manhattan, which is a vertical city, and we captured that scale. And then, you have the largest thing in the universe and the world adjusts (uses hand motions to signify the screen widening). This movie celebrates, the IMAX format, and you'll feel that on the big-screen."
It is reassuring that Disney+ subscribers will be able to enjoy Fantastic Four: First Steps in the way its creative team first envisioned it, rather than the lesser experience of the digital home release.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps came to theaters in July, officially introducing Marvel's First Family into the MCU for the first time. Led by Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn, the Matt Shakman-directed film followed its central team of heroes as they take on the planet-devouring Galactus, who has marked their world for death.
Fantastic Four's Fantastic MCU Future
Once Fantastic Four: First Steps comes to Disney+, that will mark the end of this particular movie's journey. After years of waiting, the Fantastic Four are finally in the MCU, and now Marvel Studios gets to play with its new toys in the toy box.
It will not be long before fans see the characters again. The Fantastic Four are confirmed to be one of several super-powered teams taking on Doctor Doom in next year's Avengers: Doomsday. This will add several major players to the MCU board, with the franchise potentially building its next era with Marvel's First Family as a pillar.
From there, it is assumed the characters will again pop up in Avengers: Secret Wars, where it has been speculated they could cross paths with the classic Fantastic Four characters from Fox's time with the franchise.
Beyond that, the possibilities are endless. There have been reports that Marvel Studios is already working on Fantastic Four 2 as one of the first few titles being developed post-Multiverse Saga.
