#INTERVIEW: THE CAST & CREATORS OF MARVEL’S “THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS”

Marvel‘s First Family have long been overdue for their big moment and Marvel‘s THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS soon will re-introduce audiences to Reed Richards/Mister Fantastic (Pedro Pascal), Sue Storm/Invisible Woman (Vanessa Kirby), Ben Grimm/The Thing (Ebon Moss-Bachrach), and Johnny Storm/Human Torch (Joseph Quinn) in a way never seen before!

Directed by Matt Shakman, this long-awaited Blockbuster sees the Family in a retro-futuristic 1960s-inspired world. They must balance their families privately, with their public personas as heroes, as they must defend the universe from the imminent threat of Galactus (Ralph Ineson) and Silver Surfer (Julia Garner).

We are delighted to sit in on the global press conference with the Creators and Cast of Marvel‘s THE FANTASTIC FOUR: FIRST STEPS with:

Vanessa Kirby (Sue Storm/Invisible Woman)
Pedro Pascal (Reed Richards/Mr. Fantastic)
Ebon Moss-Bachrach (Ben Grimm/The Thing)
Joseph Quinn (Johnny Storm/Human Torch)
Julia Garner (Silver Surfer)
Ralph Ineson (Galactus)
Matt Shakman (Director)

Marvel Studios President Kevin Feige tells us about the time being right bringing Marvel’s First Family to the big screen in a new way.

Feige: I’m incredibly excited. Now is time to do it because we finally got the rights to it. And the other reason is that we’ve assembled an incredible Cast. It’s very exciting that people are now seeing the Movie. We and Matt have been working very hard for years to bring Marvel’s First Family to life in a way that we felt would fit within the world we created, even though the Film very much stands alone and apart. Even though everyone in this Film is very tired, having already shot half of their next appearance in Avengers: Doomsday.

Shakman talks about what went behind this Film’s very unique timeline.

Shakman: I’m a huge Fantastic Four fan and have been since I was a kid, so it was a huge honour getting to bring these characters to the MCU. We knew they were such public figures and leading lights of their age and era, that we would’ve heard about them by now, so we had to put them in a different era, a different universe, different earth. This meant we had chance to build a different retro-future 1960s. The same energy and effort we put into Wandavision to build all these sitcom realities, we put into this retro-future world here that is a combination of Jack Kirby and Stanley Kubrick‘s 2001.

Vanessa Kirby talks about bringing Sue Storm to the screen in this latest iteration of her.

Kirby: I mean, it’s already there in the Comics over the decades, it always seemed to me kinda revolutionary to have a mother at the center of this family, but absolutely part of the team and never left on her own. When I met Matt and Kevin for the first time and we started talking about Sue, they were so passionate about her. It was so exciting to me the idea of this pregnant superhero, a working mother. Even during shooting, it was surreal, really, because of this pregnancy bump. I was so included in everything. Matt and Kevin were such huge champions of having her be in it and as complex, fierce, loving and warm – all the things they think ‘feminine’ is. It was very daunting and a great honour to play her. I’m just one of many who have gotten to know her over years.

Pedro Pascal talks about navigating Reed Richards‘ grief, new fatherhood and how Shankman (and his daughter) helped.

Pascal: My favourite thing about it is actually that this person who is so brilliant and so comfortable with figuring out the most complex science equations to create solutions for everything, or to continue understanding how the world and beyond functions. But without really knowing how to understand the much more complex equation of relationships, family and love and growing in a relationship as a friend, partner, and then of course, as a father. He handles it by ‘babyproofing’ the world rather than just being present for the experience. This is definitely something Matt guided me through – the emotional arc and details, as I’m not a father and can only imagine what it is. Matt’s daughter got me the part. She sold me some Lemonade and that was it. Look it up!

Conversations with Matt about Reed were my entry point into the character.

Joseph Quinn talks about becoming Johnny Storm.

Quinn: There’s something quite aspirational about this Johnny and they way he uses space. He’s a bit of searcher, looking for answers. All of these four characters are sentenced to this idea of responsibility and superpower and having this public-facing life. He’s looking for answers outside of it. There was something inherently in the Script – someone that was fully grounded and not two-dimensional. I was just very fortunate. It was a delight diving-in and having a laugh.

Ebon Moss-Bachrach reflects upon his experience working with this brilliant Ensemble.

Moss–Bachrach: There is a limit to how much you can build, but we were incredibly-blessed. Matt was wise to put us four together. They say you can know in first ten seconds and we all hit if off in the beginning and through the five-to-six months of making this Movie. This was not a ‘trauma-bonder’, but it’s like you’re pushing a boat over a mountain. We spent many days and hours together, all pleasurable. I’m grateful to still be hanging out with family.

I’ve never done Performance-Capture work and that attracted me to the Movie. I wanted to explore this method of acting and to get to play this incredible, strong, heavy character. I had some anxiety and nerves as it was a dim departure, but melted away in a couple days. It was really freeing.

Ralph Ineson discusses the gargantuan task of becoming Galactus.

Ineson: It happened over few months. Every few weeks I got to stand in front of a three-way mirror and look at the character. It was art and engineering, a 350 lb huge, muscular thing. It was wearable design, incredible.

Shakman: Ralph has one of most amazing voices in the world, but he lowered it an octave for this. The first time he debuted on the mic, it took my breath away.

Ineson: It takes a lot of breath to get your voice that way, and to get a growl. It takes a lot of working out to do that. I’m quite pleased with it.

Julia Garner tells us about how there were a lot of firsts for her starring as Silver Surfer.

Garner: My first day on-set, they were welcoming, warm and comforting. It was the craziest first day on a job I’ve ever had. I was 30 feet in the air, there was a construction crane, it was at night, I had an earpiece and was hearing directions. Matt and Vanessa were there and it was wild, but I had so much fun!

Marvel Studios’ “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” opens in theatres July 25, 2025.  

#INTERVIEW: “WANDAVISION” WITH ELIZABETH OLSEN, PAUL BETTANY, KATHRYN HAHN, TEYONAH PARRIS, MATT SHAKMAN, JAC SCHAEFFER X KEVIN FEIGE

Marvel make their official foray into the Television Sitcom realm with WANDAVISION. The Series infuses classic television together with their Cinematic Universe, which over three phases since 2008 have brought us acclaimed films like The Avengers, Captain America, Thor, Iron Man, Captain Marvel, Black Panther franchises and more.

Two characters found in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, Wanda Maximoff (Elizabeth Olsen) and Vision (Paul Bettany) have their moment in WANDAVISION, a nine-episode series set after the events of Avengers: Endgame. These two superheroes find themselves living in the suburbs when very soon they begin seeing that things aren’t as ideal as they seem. At the same time, they must conceal their identities. Over the course of the Series and its mock commercials, Marvel fans can begin to draw its clever connection of the Series to the rest of the MCU.

See the Trailer:

We had the opportunity to attend an international virtual Press Junket for WANDAVISION and in attendance were:

Elizabeth Olsen …Wanda
Paul Bettany …Vision
Teyonah Parris …Monica Rambeau
Kathryn Hahn …Agnes
Matt Shakman …Director/Producer
Jac Schaeffer …Writer/Producer
Kevin Feige …Producer

Star Jaleel White (Family Matters) who has been good friends with Shakman since childhood, was invited to moderate the panel. Shakman goes onto explain how they met.

Shakman: “We were unceremoniously fired on this show called Good Morning Miss Bliss with Hayley Mills that got reconceived from middle school to high school as Saved by the Bell! I was supposed to be Mario Lopez! We both went on to better things!”.

We learned the first episode of WANDAVISION was shot before a live studio audience. Elizabeth Olsen comments on how this impacted her performance.

Olsen: “It was the first thing we shot. It was so nerve-wrecking and there was a lot of adrenaline, quick changes and it totally confused my brain. It really messed with my brain, the idea of now playing to an audience, feeding off an audience and having a camera. And I was really grateful when we added a Fourth Wall first!”.

Olsen who delivers a standout performance as Wanda is asked where she pulled her inspiration from in this role.

Olsen: “I felt like it was an amalgamation of Mary Tyler Moore and Elizabeth Montgomery and I think I accidentally threw-in some Lucy (Lucille Ball) in the ’70s because there was so much Physical Comedy.”.

She comments also on exploring Wanda‘s power in a Sitcom form.

Olsen: “Well, I can’t wiggle my nose, so we had to figure out something that was period-appropriate. This was our translation and to our watch our Special Effects team that usually blows things up, sets things on fire, create wind, create smoke – these guys become puppeteers of things floating in the sky, like magnets to make things spin a certain way. It was so special seeing the them adapt to the era in ways to create these practical effects or research what they did on Bewitched. I’d have to do something like hold still, trying to do a quick change and remembering the way my body was for the camera. There was just a lot of silly things we got to do that I’m normally used to it all coming together through CGI. It was really fun to have the practical effects there.”.

What is it about Vision that holds true regardless his surroundings?

Bettany: “I was worried initially this feels so different as I read the Script and I realized he’s always been becoming something else. He’s J.A.R.V.I.S., part-Ultron, he’s part Tony Stark and he’s omnipotent. But he’s also this naive ingenue and I thought maybe I’ll throw in just a little Dick Van Dyke in there and a little bit of Hugh Laurie. As long he remains decent and honourable and exists for Wanda, then you’re safe.”.

What does Vision need to blend into his community?

Bettany: “Oh, a lot of wigs!”

Teyonah Parris (Dear White People, The Photograph) tells us a bit about her involvement with WANDAVISION and also the Captain Marvel franchise.

Parris: “We met her in Captain Marvel as a little girl and in WANDAVISION we see who she now is as a grown woman. Through the course of the show, we find out where she’s been, what’s happened to her between that gap and how she’s evolved – or not – and we just follow her along.”.

“She will be joining along Carol Danvers and Miss Marvel in Captain Marvel 2 in November 2022.”.

With WANDAVISION being set within the idealistic Sitcom world, Director Shakman tells us about this “Sitcom Bootcamp” he helped create with the Cast and Crew.

Shakman: “We wanted to be as authentic as possible, so everything from Production Design to Cinematography to Costume Design, everything was about going on this deep dive. The Actors all wanted to do the same thing. So we watched a ton of old television episodes and talked about how Comedy changes because the approach to Comedy is really different in the ’50s, ’60s and ’70s. Doing it in front of a live studio audience was weird quasi-Theatre/TV. It really adds to it and you can feel that energy of a theatrical performance working with an audience. When you get to ’60s, shows like Bewitched and I Dream of Jeanie, all the sudden there is the Fourth Wall and it’s more like doing a movie these days and that laugh track is canned and that changes the energy, the approach, the style, everything.”.

“We also worked with a fabulous dialect coach to work on how the people would sound in the era and move. We did everything we could to make it as authentic as possible.”.

At the heart of WANDAVISION is a love story. Writer/Producer Jac Schaeffer tells us more.

Schaeffer: “I think Wanda and Vision are tragic and also kind of warm and intimate. We’ve seen them in these really beautiful stolen moments in the Marvel universe. It’s actually been a small amount of screen time, but very powerful and very soulful. With WANDAVISION, we open up the space and the stage for them in this domestic sphere and we get to see them doing dishes in the kitchen and being cute. And all this homebody stuff that you’d never get to see a superhero participate in.”.

“We really go from enormous, dramatic moments in the MCU and in WANDAVISION, it’s a lot of cute-cute… until it’s not!”.

Kevin Feige has really found an incredible amount of success with the MCU in recent years, guiding Black Panther to an Oscar nomination – a first ever for a superhero movie. He also produced AVENGERS: ENDGAME, which became the highest grossing film of all time. He talks to this being Marvel‘s first crack at the Sitcom genre, which has been aided by the arrival of streaming service Disney+.

Feige: “This was our test run, Marvel’s first foray with a cast of characters we’ve seen in movies coming onto Television. The idea always was to do something that could not be done as a feature. There were a lot of meetings before people understood what it is we were trying to go for. We were able to turn a whacky idea into a spectacular show. I’m really happy that this worked out as it did for a debut on Disney+ for the MCU.”.

As the Series travels through different eras, Bettany, Olsen and Hahn, who plays intrusive neighbour Agnes, are asked how they adjust their physicality around this.

Bettany: “I think it’s a better question for Elizabeth, Teyonah and Kathyrn. I think there’s a lot more Slapstick Comedy early on, but by the ’90s they’ve made me look so ridiculous that I don’t have to work so hard for the laughs.”.

Olsen: “I think the way women move throughout the decades changes so much with what society wants from them. So Jac did write-in quite a few nods to how women evolved as we get to the ’60s. Wanda gets to wear some pants and that would adjust how someone moves through their space. Manners were a big part of it where we talk to vocal work, speech and cadence, and manners were a huge part of every decade and we would get this book of manners for the time as well. We’re not depicting an honest reality of the ’60s and ’70s, we’re depicting a Sitcom Reality, which has its own set of rules. “.

Hahn: “The Sitcom has always represented an aspirational view, a comfortable ideal. The trick was not only were we trying to live within each decade, but try to present this comfortable ideal. The structure of Sitcom – the set-up, misunderstanding and resolution is such a comfortable little structure. That’s something we had baked-in as kids of the ’80s. The trick is not to satirize it but get inside of each one. I think tonally this was such a trick to pull off.”.

WANDAVISION will kick-off Phase Four of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, although this wasn’t always the original plan prior to the Pandemic.

Feige: “Disney+ has allowed us to expand creatively what we do. The Falcon and the Winter Solider was supposed to debut first, followed soon behind by WANDAVISION, so creatively, it didn’t reshuffle. Part of having a long-range plan was having the ability to shuffle as the need arises. I’m not saying we were prepped for global pandemic because we were not, but we’ve always over the past 12-15 years at Marvel Studios been able to shuffle around. This required no shuffling around in terms of the creative. The unexpected has always served Marvel Studios well and it has served us well. I love how bold this is and as I said before, it is something you could only see on Disney+.”.

Feige is asked about his inspiration behind WANDAVISION.

Feige: “My grandfather worked for Procter & Gamble, which was a sponsor and producer behind mainly soap operas. In the early ’50s and ’60s, they did some primetime. So he was in the one of the companies behind The Dick Van Dyke Show. That might’ve been a little of it but it more is that I watched too much TV as a kid and I found a lot of comfort in television families. This is not a Parody or direct Satire. We love them and they meant a lot to us. As dated and silly as they might seem, there is a comfort factor there.”.

The first two episodes of WandaVision arrive on Disney+ Friday, January 15, 2021 with new episodes to come weekly.

(Photo/video credit: Disney)