One of Marvel's Phase 6 directors explained why this superhero team was sidelined during the battle against Thanos in the Infinity Saga. The two-part ending of the MCU's first saga assembled Earth's Mightiest Heroes to try and stop the Mad Titan, Thanos (Josh Brolin), from retrieving all six Infinity Stones to eliminate half of the universe. The core heroes include the Avengers and the Guardians of the Galaxy, but there were notable absences like the X-Men and Marvel's First Family, the Fantastic Four (mainly due to rights issues with FOX then).
While Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness showed an alternate world (Earth-838) where the Illuminati (led by Professor X and Mister Fantastic) defeated Thanos, there is still a question of what if in some fans' minds on how would the likes of the X-Men and Fantastic Four fare in a clash against Earth-616's Mad Titan.
During an interview at the BFI IMAX, UK launch event for The Fantastic Four: First Steps (via SFX), the movie's director, Matt Shakman, had a great explanation for why the team featured in the movie resides on a different Earth in the wider MCU Multiverse, telling fans that they needed to be sidelined because the Fantastic Four "would have helped out" and "solved the problem" against Thanos if they were around:
"We didn’t want them to be on this Earth (616) or the Earth with all the Marvel characters because where were they when Thanos came, right? They would have helped out. They would have solved the problem then."
Shakman ended his statement by confirming that The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set on Earth-828:
"So we put them on a different Earth. Earth-828. A different part of the Marvel Universe."
Seeing the Fantastic Four alongside the Avengers during the fight against Thanos would've been a dream come true. While it is unknown how they would have solved the Infinity Saga's Thanos problem, the Avengers and Guardians of the Galaxy would've had a better chance of addressing the conflict if Marvel's First Family were present.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps follows the titular team of heroes (Mister Fantastic, Invisible Woman, Human Torch, and the Thing) in a high-stakes fight against Galactus to save their Earth from being destroyed. The MCU's first Phase 6 movie stars Pedro Pascal, Vanessa Kirby, Ebon Moss-Bachrach, and Joseph Quinn. The film premieres in U.S. theaters on July 25, 2025.
How the Fantastic Four Would’ve Helped in Defeating Thanos (Theory)
The latest comments of The Fantastic Four: First Steps director Matt Shakman about the team's absence during the Infinity Saga made a lot of sense because Marvel's First Family wouldn't have hesitated to help in the fight against Thanos, considering that Earth and the entire universe were in danger.
Although the Avengers would have had no idea that the Fantastic Four existed (if they were active then), Reed Richards and the others would have found a way to contact Earth's Mightiest Heroes, given the prominence of the team's headquarters in upstate New York.
In a hypothetical scenario, the Avengers would have at least a better chance of solving the problem if Reed Richards utilized his genius intellect and joined Shuri and Bruce Banner in Wakanda to extract the Mind Stone from Vision.
Alternatively, if Richards or all of the Fantastic Four (there is a high chance of it happening because the Baxter Building is in New York) were able to join Tony Stark, Spider-Man, and Doctor Strange on Titan, they would stand a much better chance in confronting and potentially containing Thanos to retrieve the Infinity Gauntlet because the combined strategic expertise of Stark, Richards, Peter Quill, and Strange would produce a far more superior plan.
Still, Thanos' unpredictable nature and having the full might of the Infinity Stones at his disposal could be too much to handle if the Avengers, Guardians, and the Fantastic Four joined forces.
Read more about the 11 heroes and villains appearing in The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
