Vanessa Kirby Reveals She Received Valuable Advice from Top MCU Stars: “It’s Like a Community”

Vanessa Kirby is stepping into the Marvel Cinematic Universe as Sue Storm, and she’s already feeling the support from her fellow Marvel stars. She recently shared that actors like Florence Pugh, Sebastian Stan, and Mark Ruffalo gave her helpful advice before joining the franchise.

“It’s like a community and they gave us great advice,” Kirby said. “It’s like an extended family, especially when you’re involved in projects like Avengers. If we interact with them, it’s going to be really fun.”

Kirby’s role as Sue Storm comes in the upcoming Fantastic Four: First Steps, where she plays the invisible superhero who is also a wife, leader, and soon-to-be mom.

Kirby mentioned how the character is going through big changes in the story. “You may not feel like a superhero, but your identity changes so much when you navigate the world with a new perspective,” she said, referring to the emotional journey Sue goes on during the film.

This version of Fantastic Four is different from the earlier films. It skips the team’s origin story and dives straight into their adventures. The movie takes place on a retro-futuristic version of Earth in the 1960s. The Fantastic Four must save their world from Galactus, a massive cosmic being who eats planets.

Pedro Pascal plays Reed Richards, Ebon Moss-Bachrach is Ben Grimm, and Joseph Quinn is Johnny Storm. Alongside them is Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer, Galactus’s powerful herald who rides through space on a board. Garner said she brought an elegant, dance-like style to the character.

Ralph Ineson plays Galactus. He wears full armor and brings a towering presence to the screen. According to director Matt Shakman, Galactus is “a humongous, 14-billion-year-old, planet-devouring cosmic vampire.” Ineson said he doesn’t see the character as evil, just as someone doing what he was made to do.

Other cast members include Paul Walter Hauser and John Malkovich in unknown roles, and Matthew Wood voicing the Fantastic Four’s helpful robot H.E.R.B.I.E. Natasha Lyonne and Sarah Niles are also part of the movie, along with a baby actor playing Franklin Richards, the son of Sue and Reed.

There’s also a small appearance expected from Robert Downey Jr. as Doctor Doom in a post-credits scene, according to rumors, though director Shakman says Doom isn’t part of the main story.

Filming started in July 2024 and wrapped up in November of the same year. Most of the scenes were shot at Pinewood Studios and around different locations in England and Spain. The movie is set to hit theaters on July 25, 2025, and will kick off Phase Six of the MCU. A sequel is already being planned.

The road to this film was long. After the 2015 Fantastic Four movie flopped, 20th Century Fox tried different ideas, including a kid-focused version and a Doctor Doom spin-off. But when Disney bought Fox in 2019, Marvel Studios took over. Kevin Feige, head of Marvel Studios, announced the new film that same year.

At first, Jon Watts was going to direct the movie, but he left the project. Matt Shakman later took over. The script went through several versions. Writers Josh Friedman and Eric Pearson worked on the final draft.

There were rumors that John Krasinski would return as Reed Richards after appearing briefly in Doctor Strange in the Multiverse of Madness, but Marvel went with a fresh cast for this main universe version.

The studio made it clear that this film would focus on a new take. Shakman said he was excited about the idea of family and hope being at the heart of the story.

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