The Fantastic Four: First Steps has kicked off Phase Six of the Marvel Cinematic Universe with an impressive $118 million domestic box office haul from its opening weekend.
That’s the fourth biggest domestic opening of 2025, behind A Minecraft Movie ($162 million), Lilo & Stitch ($146 million), and Superman ($125 million).
First Steps, starring Pedro Pascal as Reed Richards / Mister Fantastic, Vanessa Kirby as Sue Storm / Invisible Woman, Ebon Moss-Bachrach as Ben Grimm / The Thing, and Joseph Quinn as Johnny Storm / Human Torch, pulled in $100 million internationally, making for a global tally of $218 million.
That’s the best opening weekend for a Marvel movie since last year’s billion dollar blockbuster Deadpool & Wolverine, and is comfortably ahead of this year’s box office disappointments Captain America: Brave New World and Thunderbolts*.
Fantastic Four’s opening is pretty much neck and neck with Superman’s, which managed $217 million globally when it launched. The question for Marvel and parent company Disney will be, can Fantastic Four show staying power at theaters in the weeks and months ahead, long enough to be considered a success theatrically?
All eyes are on Fantastic Four’s performance following Marvel’s recent box office struggles, with the big budget Avengers: Doomsday out late next year. Before that, Spider-Man: Brand New Day comes out July 2026, then Avengers: Secret Wars launches in 2027.
Some we knew about – such as Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange – but the following omissions are notable given the cosmic cross-over nature of what’s shaping up to be an Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four cinematic extravaganza.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/yM.rvmbBoKQEGnbn2k0VYA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/593500ac3e1950b21c368b13f660899c><img alt="Despite five hours of streamed casting announcements, there are still several characters and actors fans are surprised won’t be in Avengers: Doomsday.
Some we knew about – such as Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange – but the following omissions are notable given the cosmic cross-over nature of what’s shaping up to be an Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four cinematic extravaganza.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/yM.rvmbBoKQEGnbn2k0VYA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/593500ac3e1950b21c368b13f660899c class=caas-img>
Some we knew about – such as Elizabeth Olsen’s Scarlet Witch and Benedict Cumberbatch’s Doctor Strange – but the following omissions are notable given the cosmic cross-over nature of what’s shaping up to be an Avengers, X-Men and Fantastic Four cinematic extravaganza.
No Spider-Man (not that anyone can remember who Peter Parker is now, mind you), no Hulk, no Hawkeye, no Nick Fury, no Rhodey (the real one we found out about in Secret Invasion). Not even Pepper Potts or Happy Hogan to tag along for old times’ sake. And while Captain Carter was reportedly in the mix at one point, Hayley Atwell wasn’t among those announced today.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VMqLb0QBQYIWGMMm30nVrg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/f6113125c816649271bf56bf75338f70><img alt="Missing Avengers
No Spider-Man (not that anyone can remember who Peter Parker is now, mind you), no Hulk, no Hawkeye, no Nick Fury, no Rhodey (the real one we found out about in Secret Invasion). Not even Pepper Potts or Happy Hogan to tag along for old times’ sake. And while Captain Carter was reportedly in the mix at one point, Hayley Atwell wasn’t among those announced today.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VMqLb0QBQYIWGMMm30nVrg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/f6113125c816649271bf56bf75338f70 class=caas-img>
No Spider-Man (not that anyone can remember who Peter Parker is now, mind you), no Hulk, no Hawkeye, no Nick Fury, no Rhodey (the real one we found out about in Secret Invasion). Not even Pepper Potts or Happy Hogan to tag along for old times’ sake. And while Captain Carter was reportedly in the mix at one point, Hayley Atwell wasn’t among those announced today.
No Hugh Jackman/Wolverine, no Halle Berry/Storm, no Famke Janssen/Jean Grey, no Anna Paquin/Rogue, no Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool. Ditto Colossus, Iceman, or any of the First Class incarnations of the X-Men. Oh, and no New Mutants either (remember them???).” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/4NLB6RVy00a069g.bKDlDw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/03568e23ceeb712d98f1960a89deb2ab><img alt="X-Men X-Ceptions
No Hugh Jackman/Wolverine, no Halle Berry/Storm, no Famke Janssen/Jean Grey, no Anna Paquin/Rogue, no Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool. Ditto Colossus, Iceman, or any of the First Class incarnations of the X-Men. Oh, and no New Mutants either (remember them???).” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/4NLB6RVy00a069g.bKDlDw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/03568e23ceeb712d98f1960a89deb2ab class=caas-img>
No Hugh Jackman/Wolverine, no Halle Berry/Storm, no Famke Janssen/Jean Grey, no Anna Paquin/Rogue, no Ryan Reynolds/Deadpool. Ditto Colossus, Iceman, or any of the First Class incarnations of the X-Men. Oh, and no New Mutants either (remember them???).
While Chris Hemsworth’s Thor was the first announced cast member of this particular Avengers lineup, none of his fellow Asgardians – whom he split from at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder – seem to be involved save for the Loki Variant. So no Valkyrie, Korg, Miek or Lady Sif. Maybe his adopted daughter Love will show up though? And we’ll see if Zeus or Hercules ever do catch up with Thor despite what was teased in the Love and Thunder post-credits scene.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Xmhn74_dRjFNGiHSA6sZaA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/da379f7433f877df53bca1ef3c8e7d07><img alt="Asgard, Where Art Thou?
While Chris Hemsworth’s Thor was the first announced cast member of this particular Avengers lineup, none of his fellow Asgardians – whom he split from at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder – seem to be involved save for the Loki Variant. So no Valkyrie, Korg, Miek or Lady Sif. Maybe his adopted daughter Love will show up though? And we’ll see if Zeus or Hercules ever do catch up with Thor despite what was teased in the Love and Thunder post-credits scene.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/Xmhn74_dRjFNGiHSA6sZaA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD04Mjg-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/da379f7433f877df53bca1ef3c8e7d07 class=caas-img>
While Chris Hemsworth’s Thor was the first announced cast member of this particular Avengers lineup, none of his fellow Asgardians – whom he split from at the end of Thor: Love and Thunder – seem to be involved save for the Loki Variant. So no Valkyrie, Korg, Miek or Lady Sif. Maybe his adopted daughter Love will show up though? And we’ll see if Zeus or Hercules ever do catch up with Thor despite what was teased in the Love and Thunder post-credits scene.
Star-Lord’s return has been previously teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so his inclusion in the Avengers ranks for Doomsday seemed likely. But alas neither Star-Lord nor any of the new Guardians lineup introduced in Vol. 3 – Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam, Phyla, and Blurp – are part of this movie.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5._Lg23cGtWtv8sYhaCp4w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/f9de0826bdf1e60ad3f36dc109156de6><img alt="Guardians of the Galaxy
Star-Lord’s return has been previously teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so his inclusion in the Avengers ranks for Doomsday seemed likely. But alas neither Star-Lord nor any of the new Guardians lineup introduced in Vol. 3 – Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam, Phyla, and Blurp – are part of this movie.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/5._Lg23cGtWtv8sYhaCp4w–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/f9de0826bdf1e60ad3f36dc109156de6 class=caas-img>
Star-Lord’s return has been previously teased at the end of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, so his inclusion in the Avengers ranks for Doomsday seemed likely. But alas neither Star-Lord nor any of the new Guardians lineup introduced in Vol. 3 – Rocket, Groot, Kraglin, Cosmo, Adam, Phyla, and Blurp – are part of this movie.
Captain Marvel’s importance in Endgame would have suggested that, as one of the most powerful Avengers, she would be in Doomsday. But with The Marvels tanking at the box office, none of those characters – Ms. Marvel, Spectrum, Binary, or even Nick Fury – were announced for Doomsday. This is all the more curious as we know Binary ended up in the X-Men universe with Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, who will be in the movie. In fact, there’s a noticeable lack of female cast members overall in Avengers: Doomsday…” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/maaPfR_4YmsOBT0uUPLtDw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/a8789f803fb75d34e9ce82238699aa66><img alt="The Marvels
Captain Marvel’s importance in Endgame would have suggested that, as one of the most powerful Avengers, she would be in Doomsday. But with The Marvels tanking at the box office, none of those characters – Ms. Marvel, Spectrum, Binary, or even Nick Fury – were announced for Doomsday. This is all the more curious as we know Binary ended up in the X-Men universe with Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, who will be in the movie. In fact, there’s a noticeable lack of female cast members overall in Avengers: Doomsday…” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/maaPfR_4YmsOBT0uUPLtDw–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/a8789f803fb75d34e9ce82238699aa66 class=caas-img>
Captain Marvel’s importance in Endgame would have suggested that, as one of the most powerful Avengers, she would be in Doomsday. But with The Marvels tanking at the box office, none of those characters – Ms. Marvel, Spectrum, Binary, or even Nick Fury – were announced for Doomsday. This is all the more curious as we know Binary ended up in the X-Men universe with Kelsey Grammer’s Beast, who will be in the movie. In fact, there’s a noticeable lack of female cast members overall in Avengers: Doomsday…
While Benedict Cumberbatch did say his Doctor Strange will be in Secret Wars but not Doomsday, it’s weird that such a cosmic event wouldn’t see the MCU’s reigning Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, show up. (We can assume Doc Strange and Charlize Theron’s Clea are off galavanting on some other plane as the events of Doomsday play out.) No Scarlet Witch or Agatha Harkness either.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0CXBSe.bOwAIbdrYDuYtbQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/91ae199e958761dc97f6149002549232><img alt="Missing the Magic
While Benedict Cumberbatch did say his Doctor Strange will be in Secret Wars but not Doomsday, it’s weird that such a cosmic event wouldn’t see the MCU’s reigning Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, show up. (We can assume Doc Strange and Charlize Theron’s Clea are off galavanting on some other plane as the events of Doomsday play out.) No Scarlet Witch or Agatha Harkness either.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/0CXBSe.bOwAIbdrYDuYtbQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/91ae199e958761dc97f6149002549232 class=caas-img>
While Benedict Cumberbatch did say his Doctor Strange will be in Secret Wars but not Doomsday, it’s weird that such a cosmic event wouldn’t see the MCU’s reigning Sorcerer Supreme, Wong, show up. (We can assume Doc Strange and Charlize Theron’s Clea are off galavanting on some other plane as the events of Doomsday play out.) No Scarlet Witch or Agatha Harkness either.
There’s a decided lack of Disney+ show characters in Avengers: Doomsday. So no Daredevil, Punisher, Vision, Sylvie, Moon Knight, Echo, She-Hulk, Werewolf by Night, Agent Mobius or the TVA.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6jOeSrdW6UHqEkpFsp2ExQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/255f80e8b4b072324f9c586ec9c4468d><img alt="Disney Plus Minus
There’s a decided lack of Disney+ show characters in Avengers: Doomsday. So no Daredevil, Punisher, Vision, Sylvie, Moon Knight, Echo, She-Hulk, Werewolf by Night, Agent Mobius or the TVA.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/6jOeSrdW6UHqEkpFsp2ExQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/255f80e8b4b072324f9c586ec9c4468d class=caas-img>
There’s a decided lack of Disney+ show characters in Avengers: Doomsday. So no Daredevil, Punisher, Vision, Sylvie, Moon Knight, Echo, She-Hulk, Werewolf by Night, Agent Mobius or the TVA.
Given the dismal box office and critical results of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Marvel is putting those characters, with the exception of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, on the sidelines for this installment. So no Hank Pym or Janet Van Dyne. And Evangeline Lilly previously announced that she was stepping away from acting so that might be another key reason why Wasp is sitting this one out.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/y_FRNrQj7H6TOH.QPFm6lQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/e571c09ec468a31359916a382f03b6f4><img alt="Quantumania Fallout?
Given the dismal box office and critical results of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Marvel is putting those characters, with the exception of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, on the sidelines for this installment. So no Hank Pym or Janet Van Dyne. And Evangeline Lilly previously announced that she was stepping away from acting so that might be another key reason why Wasp is sitting this one out.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/y_FRNrQj7H6TOH.QPFm6lQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/e571c09ec468a31359916a382f03b6f4 class=caas-img>
Given the dismal box office and critical results of Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania, it shouldn’t be too surprising that Marvel is putting those characters, with the exception of Paul Rudd’s Scott Lang, on the sidelines for this installment. So no Hank Pym or Janet Van Dyne. And Evangeline Lilly previously announced that she was stepping away from acting so that might be another key reason why Wasp is sitting this one out.
Not a one. Not even Harry Styles as Eros! This is probably not surprising since the film disappointed at the box office, but given the movie’s cliffhanger ending with Arishem and the fact that Captain America: Brave New World addressed the giant dead Celestial in the ocean, maybe we’ll see Sersi, Kingo, Sprite (or not since she was made human in the end), Phastos, Makkari, Druig, and Thena show up in Avengers: Secret Wars instead.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ttlD7NVrszZwsnRElvpKqA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/9fdd3d8ced1ec34fb0a098f83f855360><img alt="Eternals Are Not Forever
Not a one. Not even Harry Styles as Eros! This is probably not surprising since the film disappointed at the box office, but given the movie’s cliffhanger ending with Arishem and the fact that Captain America: Brave New World addressed the giant dead Celestial in the ocean, maybe we’ll see Sersi, Kingo, Sprite (or not since she was made human in the end), Phastos, Makkari, Druig, and Thena show up in Avengers: Secret Wars instead.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/ttlD7NVrszZwsnRElvpKqA–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/9fdd3d8ced1ec34fb0a098f83f855360 class=caas-img>
Not a one. Not even Harry Styles as Eros! This is probably not surprising since the film disappointed at the box office, but given the movie’s cliffhanger ending with Arishem and the fact that Captain America: Brave New World addressed the giant dead Celestial in the ocean, maybe we’ll see Sersi, Kingo, Sprite (or not since she was made human in the end), Phastos, Makkari, Druig, and Thena show up in Avengers: Secret Wars instead.
The MCU has been teasing a Young Avengers lineup for a few years now – Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Skaar, Eli Bradley, possibly Iron Lad and T’Challa’s son – but not one of them is in Doomsday.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/iETQ3Dg03rtuwEkf1AWk_A–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/b3ef9e1ef0536032fcade6a67694abc5><img alt="The Young Avengers
The MCU has been teasing a Young Avengers lineup for a few years now – Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Skaar, Eli Bradley, possibly Iron Lad and T’Challa’s son – but not one of them is in Doomsday.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/iETQ3Dg03rtuwEkf1AWk_A–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/b3ef9e1ef0536032fcade6a67694abc5 class=caas-img>
The MCU has been teasing a Young Avengers lineup for a few years now – Ms. Marvel, Kate Bishop, America Chavez, Skaar, Eli Bradley, possibly Iron Lad and T’Challa’s son – but not one of them is in Doomsday.
This shouldn’t be surprising since they still haven’t shot the Blade movie with Mahershala Ali despite teasing him in Eternals. And while Channing Tatum’s Gambit (somehow) managed to survive to fight in Doomsday, Wesley Snipes’ Blade perished in Deadpool & Wolverine.” data-src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/O3YGtDJLk5p8yb4xMMzufQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/8cd837076adb7dac6434c79a5a50812d><img alt="Blade Didn’t Make the Cut
This shouldn’t be surprising since they still haven’t shot the Blade movie with Mahershala Ali despite teasing him in Eternals. And while Channing Tatum’s Gambit (somehow) managed to survive to fight in Doomsday, Wesley Snipes’ Blade perished in Deadpool & Wolverine.” src=https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/O3YGtDJLk5p8yb4xMMzufQ–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTEyNDI7aD02OTk-/https://media.zenfs.com/en/ign_articles_326/8cd837076adb7dac6434c79a5a50812d class=caas-img>
This shouldn’t be surprising since they still haven’t shot the Blade movie with Mahershala Ali despite teasing him in Eternals. And while Channing Tatum’s Gambit (somehow) managed to survive to fight in Doomsday, Wesley Snipes’ Blade perished in Deadpool & Wolverine.
Meanwhile, Superman is the highest-grossing superhero film of 2025, above both Captain America and Thunderbolts* after three weekends, and is now up to $502.7 million globally. Jurassic World Rebirth hit $708.3 million worldwide after four weekends, and F1 The Movie is on $509.7 million after five weekends.
Wesley is Director, News at IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at wesley_yinpoole@ign.com or confidentially at wyp100@proton.me.
