In a new interview, one actor in The Fantastic Four: First Steps praises the film's storytelling, directly comparing it to two of the MCU's best entries.
The MCU's spiraling quality and box office revenue have been a tad overblown, with successes like Black Panther: Wakanda Forever, Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and Deadpool & Wolverine still occurring in recent years. However, fans can hardly ignore its string of sequel flops like The Marvels, Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, and now Captain America: Brave New World given its current trajectory.
Sadly, these duds have turned off a number of fans from keeping up with every MCU release. But some have found a new hope in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, a feeling shared by Paul Walter Hauser, one of a handful of actors in the film whose role is still a mystery.
2025 Fantastic Four Actor Boasts About Marvel's Storytelling Comeback
The Direct's Russ Millheim had the chance to have an exclusive interview with Paul Walter Hauser while promoting his upcoming film The Luckiest Man in America, where he stars as the titular lucky man, Michael Larson, who outsmarted CBS's game show Press Your Luck.
While speaking to Hauser about that new movie, The Direct also made sure to ask about his involvement in The Fantastic Four: First Steps, specifically regarding how the film can bring back some Marvel fans who may have been turned off by recent MCU outings.
Hauser, whose role in the movie is still being kept in the dark, started off by explaining that no director or studio will "hit the mark every time" with every project:
"Let's remember that Marvel is servicing a lot of folks, and they want to make a lot of entertainment for people to enjoy, and none of us are 100%. None of us hit the mark every time. Not a single one of us. Your favorite director has made a less than satisfactory movie. Just facts."
However, despite Marvel Studios' missteps like Secret Invasion, Hauser has confidence in this next attempt at the Fantastic Four team, and that "everything [he] witnessed and took part in" made him believe it will be "the Marvel movie of the year" and "the one to watch:"
"So I think our movie, 'Fantastic Four: First Steps,' to me, only speaking from my opinion, everything I witnessed and took part in, everything I felt while in the presence of the creatives on the film, I believe we are the Marvel movie of the year. I believe we are the one to watch."
He further claimed that The Fantastic Four: First Steps would "go down in history," comparing it to Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther in terms of "successful storytelling," and will "hit" the same way those two breakout films did:
"And I believe that this will go down in history as one of the ones that started a new tide of successful storytelling for the company. Sort of in the same way the 'Guardians of the Galaxy' and 'Black Panther' hit. They both hit in a certain way. I believe we are about to hit."
What's sure to set itself apart from the rest of the MCU, quite literally, is that The Fantastic Four: First Steps will take place in "a 1960s-inspired, retro-futuristic" universe, completely separating itself from the main universe. A corner of the MCU all to itself, like it was for Guardians of the Galaxy and Black Panther.
Hauser concluded his optimistic outlook by expressing that the July 2025 Marvel film has "a lot of heart" and "a lot of great craftswomen and men who worked on it."
Who Paul Walter Hauser will play in The Fantastic Four: First Steps is still a mystery. One enduring theory from fans is that he'll portray the family's first villain, Mole Man, which has only grown stronger with the confirmed inclusion of Subterranea.
While Ralph Ineson's Galactus will have the spotlight, it's rumored that the film will include even more members of the Fantastic Four's rogues gallery. But it's likely that no matter how much light is shining on Hauser, he'll have helped push Fantastic Four as the newest "hit" he promises it to be.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps hits theaters on July 25, 2025.
