Marvel Studios has been extremely patient with its Fantastic Four rollout. However, the latest trailer for The Fantastic Four: First Steps finally revealed the first look at Julia Garner as the Silver Surfer.
“Are you the protectors of the world?” The Silver Surfer asks Marvel’s First Family before declaring that Earth has been “marked for death.” Shalla-Bal, aka the Silver Surfer, is the Empress of Zenn-La and the official herald to Galactus (Ralph Ineson), the cosmic being who consumes planets. Garner’s Silver Surfer sports the trademark metallic skin and travels on a surfboard-esque platform.
The Silver Surfer was not the only big reveal in the trailer. The footage confirmed that Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) is pregnant with her first child. While Sue’s husband, Reed Richard (Pedro Pascal), looked cautious, Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) were much happier, knowing they are about to become uncles.
“We can do this,” Sue tells Reed in a private moment. “Nothing’s going to change.”
Unfortunately for Sue, everything will change after the arrival of Galactus. Not even the brilliant Reed can predict what will happen, going so far as to share his uncertainty about humanity’s safety.
“We will fight it together,” Sue emphatically states. “We will face this together as a family.”
The Fantastic Four: First Steps also stars Paul Walter Hauser, John Malkovich, Natasha Lyonne, and Sarah Niles.
First Steps marks the introduction of the Fantastic Four into the MCU. 20th Century Fox previously made three Fantastic Four movies this century — 2005’s Fantastic Four, 2007’s Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer, and the 2015 reboot, Fantastic Four.
Because the MCU’s version of the Fantastic Four exists in a 1960s retro-futuristic-inspired world, don’t expect other MCU characters to show up, at least not until the end or the post-credits scene. The Fantastic Four are on a collision course with Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.), and the superhero team will star in Avengers: Doomsday.
Matt Shakman directs The Fantastic Four: First Steps and Kevin Feige produces, with Louis D’Esposito, Grant Curtis, and Tim Lewis attached as executive producers.
Marvel Studios will release The Fantastic Four: First Steps on July 25.
Some of the best shots in Grok Imagine’s AI-made Odyssey don’t contain actors. Ancient landscapes stretch into the distance. Close-ups of grimy hands suggest people who have touched something rougher than a keyboard. For a few seconds, the illusion holds.
https://twitter.com/imagine/status/2113712964419063911
YouTube videos could soon look better without eating quite so much data, right? Thankfully, the platform plans to introduce a new video format called AV2 on its web player in early 2027, promising more efficient streaming and potentially fewer playback hiccups on slower internet connections. The big headline is a roughly 30% improvement in compression efficiency over AV1, YouTube's existing video format. That doesn't guarantee every video will use 30% less data, but it could make streaming a little easier on both internet connections and data allowances.
What is AV2, and why should viewers care?
YouTube is changing how its Home page works, giving viewers more control over what shows up there and making some of the app’s most-used sections easier to reach. Custom Feeds are now replacing the existing topic chips for eligible users, while YouTube is also testing a redesigned top bar on mobile that moves Subscriptions closer to the Home feed.
YouTube first started experimenting with Custom Feeds earlier this year, letting you type out what you wanted to watch and turning that request into its own stream of recommendations. Now, the feature is starting to look less like a side experiment and more like something YouTube actually wants people to use as part of their everyday Home page.