‘Fantastic Four’ Stars Are Gearing Up To Pull A ‘Snow White’ On Disney’s MCU

The stars of one of the next films in Disney’s Marvel Cinematic Universe — “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” — made it clear in a recent interview that their plan is to effectively “Snow White” the franchise.

Despite Disney’s spectacular crash-and-burn with the Rachel Zegler-led live-action “Snow White” — which struggled under the weight of Zegler’s woke commentary and anti-Semitic social media posts in addition to the widely-panned decision to use CGI rather than live dwarf actors — the cast of “First Steps” appears ready to deliver a similar offering when the film is released in late July.

In a recent interview for Entertainment Weekly, Jessica Kirby (who plays Sue Storm, the Invisible Woman) explained how she planned to reinterpret her character despite the fact that the film is set in the 1960s in a parallel world within Marvel’s multiverse.

“If you played an exact ’60s Sue today, everyone would think she was a bit of a doormat. So figuring out how to capture the essence of what she represented to each generation, where the gender politics were different, and embody that today, was one of the greatest joys of this,” Kirby began. “Matt and I were really aware that there hasn’t really been a mother with a baby in these superhero archetypes women have been getting. One of the things I love most from Sue’s history is when she becomes Malice, and all her dark stuff comes out. I was obsessed with that chapter of her life. So I wanted to make sure that there were tones of Malice in there with her, that she wasn’t just the stereotype of a goody, sweet mother.”

“I’ve always been really interested in the mess of femininity, and how can you be both? How can you be all the things? Not just the tough, invincible, powerful woman, but also a mother who gives birth, which is itself a superhero act. I love that these characters are real humans in a messy family who argue and try to work it out and get things wrong,” Kirby continued.

Joseph Quinn took on the role of Johnny Storm, the Human Torch, and he described how cultural changes had led them to move away from previous portrayals that cast Johnny as an immature hothead and a bit of a player.

“He’s a man that leads with a lot of bravado, which can be an affront sometimes. But also he’s funny,” Quinn explained. “Myself and [Marvel Studios boss] Kevin [Feige] were speaking about previous iterations of him and where we are culturally. He was branded as this womanizing, devil-may-care guy, but is that sexy these days? I don’t think so. This version of Johnny is less callous with other people’s feelings, and hopefully there’s a self-awareness about what’s driving that attention-seeking behavior.”

The foursome — which also includes Pedro Pascal’s Mr. Fantastic and Ebon Moss-Bacharach’s Thing — are expected to reprise their roles in 2026’s “Avengers: Doomsday.”