When The Fantastic Four: First Steps hit theaters on July 25, 2025, its final moments became a debated aspect of the film. While the reboot set out to reintroduce Marvel's First Family to the MCU, many fans walked away a bit disappointed with how the story wrapped up. Newly resurfaced unused footage suggests that the movie was once planned to open and end in a much more connected way. This reignited debate over whether Marvel should have stuck with its original vision, especially with the team set to return in Avengers: Doomsday next year.
Originally, Fantastic Four: First Steps was planned to open and close with a running joke about the family always leaving Ted Gilbert's talk show early. Fans pieced this together from trailer clips showing the Fantastic Four at the show at the start of the movie, even though those opening moments never made it into the final film, while the "leaving early" joke appeared only at the end.
The footage shows how closely the moments would have been mirrored, but ultimately was cut into bits for the final opening montage.
This even included details like the large live audience from the Ted Gilbert show. The family was beloved at the beginning and end of the film, but it's important to note that the journey the general public went on during the film, with most people globally wanting The Richards' to give up their baby, Franklin, to Galactus.
One of the best parallel shots is the original four at the beginning of the movie, getting called to action, followed by the family, with Franklin, at the end of the film. While it was used in marketing, the opening shot was unused in the final edit.
This theory of Marvel Studios editing out a longer opening scene at the Ted Gilbert Show was proven more by a deleted scene. It shows Sue (Vanessa Kirby) and Reed (Pedro Pascal) backstage, preparing to present on "Fantastic Four Day."
The deleted footage also shows The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) shaving for the show, then going over to Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) while he's getting make-up done.
The additional opening footage shows Johnny being a major flirt, a long-time character trait for the Humna Torch, and one that fans could have gotten more of in the MCU film.
The opening sequence in question is almost certainly when the Fantastic Four would have gone to fight John Malkovich's Red Ghost.
Director Matt Shakman confirmed that the Red Ghost sequence was cut from Fantastic Four: First Steps, which got the runtime to a tight 1 hour and 55 minutes.
It's clear now that when the Red Ghost fight scene was cut and replaced with a montage, the joke had to be altered, removing the parallel, circular narrative that would have tied the film's beginning and ending together.
Some fans feel that without this structure, the ending lost a sense of completeness and satisfaction, stripping away much of the movie's charm and full-circle cleverness.
This isn't the only time the ending of First Steps has been judged. After defeating Galactus (with the help of the Silver Surfer), Sue Storm nearly dies, but Franklin Richards is able to revive her, with cosmic powers the family is yet to understand. The key aspect that fans were surprised by was that the film didn't directly connect to the Thunderbolts* post-credits scene, which saw the Excelsior space ship entering the atmosphere of Earth-616.
It's assumed now that that scene will be in Avengers: Doomsday, taking place sometime after the post-credits scene of First Steps, which featured the first look at Doctor Doom in live-action, taking an interest in Franklin Richards.
Fantastic Four: Release the Shakman Cut?
Given how heavily edited The Fantastic Four: First Steps was, there's a strong argument that fans might benefit from a director's cut. Key sequences, including Red Ghost, a Reed and Sue's heart-to-heart moment, and the Baxter Building tour, were either shortened or removed entirely, leaving gaps in character development and plot clarity.
A completed director's cut could restore these moments, providing a more satisfying, cohesive story and deepening the audience's connection to the Fantastic Four.
However, Shakman has confirmed that many of the deleted scenes remain unfinished due to heavy visual effects, making a full cut unlikely. Still, even a partial release of deleted footage could give fans a better sense of the film's original (pre-edited) vision.
First Steps debuted on Disney+ with just 4.9 million equivalent completed views in its first five days, marking the weakest streaming launch for a major MCU theatrical release to date. While a director's cut could potentially boost viewership by restoring deleted scenes, that remains doubtful.
