Marvel Studios reportedly made a last-minute change to its next movie, The Fantastic Four: First Steps, which is not to the liking of many MCU fans. After a string of releases from the MCU that have not gotten great reviews, The Fantastic Four is already building hype as the next big winner for Marvel. However, not everything coming out of reports on the film has been all positive.
A recent update for The Fantastic Four: First Steps indicated the movie has a runtime of 1 hour and 55 minutes. This marks a fairly big change from previous reports about the upcoming Phase 6 movie's runtime, with movie runtimes being a hotly debated topic in the comic book movie sphere in recent years.
Fans saw this new 115-minute runtime on the website for AMC Theaters. However, AMC had previously listed the movie as being 2 hours and 10 minutes long, a full 15 minutes longer than the runtime currently posted. This is leaving much of the MCU fandom quite disappointed, as the original runtime was exponentially longer than any previous Fantastic Four movie.
Not only does this mean fans will have less of the movie to enjoy than expected, but viewers are starting to speculate on what this could mean for the story. Some believe the runtime change is due to Marvel cutting certain storylines that are not clicking with audiences, specifically with actors like Natasha Lyonne (whose role has not been disclosed yet). It may also set up a story that feels rushed for many viewers, as has happened with past MCU films.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps will be the MCU's first attempt at a solo movie for the iconic Marvel team in the first film from Marvel Studios' Phase 6 slate. Starring Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Joseph Quinn, and Ebon Moss-Bachrach, the titular team will be in their early years of operation as they gear up to stop Galactus and his efforts to wipe out their universe. The Fantastic Four: First Steps will debut in theaters on July 25.
Will The Fantastic Four's Shorter Runtime Be an Issue?
Marvel Studios' movie runtimes have often been an issue with fans since the beginning of the Multiverse Saga. While arguments have been made in favor of shorter runtimes, films like Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, Thor: Love and Thunder, and Captain America: Brave New World have all seemed to suffer from feeling rushed due to having runtimes of less than two hours.
Of course, Eternals proved that movies can also suffer sometimes from being too lengthy, as that movie's 2-hour-39-minute runtime left fans feeling like the story dragged on and had too many slow moments. For the most part, the MCU has performed well with films that have landed at somewhere between 130 and 150 minutes in length, which give the respective stories enough room to breathe while also giving fans plenty of action and drama.
Even with the anticipation building for The Fantastic Four's release, this shorter runtime could dampen some of that excitement for fans who were hoping to see one of the longer movies of the MCU's Multiverse Saga.
Hopefully, without the need to dive into the team's full origin story, there will be plenty of extra runtime to fully explore everything needed to tell the group's story so that they are established without leaving fans wondering what else could be there.
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.
