A growing the MCU timeline’s long-awaited Fantastic Four reboot teases the arrival of one of the MCU’s most terrifying cosmic threats, and theories are already connecting the dots back to the iconic Marvel series. If true, this theory brilliantly links two of the most important chapters in Marvel’s multiverse saga – and helps explain why the Galactus storyline is only happening now.
The MCU's The Fantastic Four: First Steps is set in the 1960s and introduces Marvel’s First Family into the MCU for the first time. In a bold creative twist, the film takes place in an alternate Earth with a retro-futuristic aesthetic and a timeline largely untouched by the mainline MCU events. The teaser trailer showcases Reed Richards, Sue Storm, Johnny Storm, and Ben Grimm exploring deep space and dealing with mysterious cosmic consequences. A very compelling theory suggests that Loki season 2 may have predicated this storyline.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps Suggests Mister Fantastic Accidentally Summoned Galactus With His Research
Reed Richards Says It's His Fault In The First Steps Trailer
The most striking moment in The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ trailer comes when Reed Richards, clearly shaken, says: “It’s my fault. I stretched the boundaries of space... and they heard.” The line is immediately interpreted as Reed blaming himself for summoning something powerful and dangerous through his experiments. The trailer implies that this is Galactus, who appears briefly – though it’s worth noting it could be someone else, such as Doctor Doom.
I Can’t Believe One Of Marvel’s Silliest Movies Beat The MCU To Its Galactus Introduction By A Year
One of the most ridiculous Marvel movies introduced an equally silly version of Galactus a whole year before The Fantastic Four: First Steps.
Regardless, this setup is classic Fantastic Four: Reed Richards is often portrayed as a genius whose intellect sometimes outpaces his caution. His curiosity and ambition can lead to devastating consequences, especially when meddling with powers beyond comprehension. In First Steps, it seems that his exploration into the edges of space may have sent a signal or opened a rift that alerted Galactus to the presence of their world.
Loki Season 2's TVA Changes Explain Why This MCU Movie Storyline Is Only Just Happening Now
Loki Ended With Loki Saving The Multiverse
According to a compelling theory, The Fantastic Four: First Steps is only happening now because the TVA – reborn in Loki season 2 – used to eliminate timelines where advanced multiversal or cosmic science emerged too early. In Loki season 1, the TVA pruned branches from the Sacred Timeline that veered toward multiversal instability. Any universe or individual that meddled too much with time or dimension-hopping was swiftly removed to prevent a multiverse war.
If Reed Richards’ experiments in the 1960s involved poking at the multiverse or breaching dimensional barriers (which they almost certainly do), then the TVA would have previously eliminated that entire timeline to keep things stable. This would mean that the Fantastic Four’s reality could not exist until after the TVA changed their purpose. At the end of Loki season 2, the TVA transforms from a multiverse-pruning bureaucracy into a multiverse-monitoring organization, no longer destroying timelines but instead protecting them.
Loki himself sacrifices his freedom to stabilize the World Tree – a new multiverse model that keeps all branches alive. As seen in Deadpool & Wolverine, the TVA now allows more complex and chaotic timelines to exist. So if the TVA stopped culling dangerous or too advanced timelines, the Fantastic Four's universe – where Reed reached far into cosmic science and unwittingly signaled Galactus – could finally be permitted to unfold. Essentially, Loki made First Steps possible by rewriting the TVA's rules and saving the multiverse.
Why Linking The Fantastic Four: First Steps & Loki Season 2's Stories Would Be Great For The MCU
Loki Season 2 Was One Of The Greatest Entries In The Multiverse Saga
If Marvel Studios decides to make this connection between First Steps and Loki canon, it would mark one of the most rewarding and logical developments in the Multiverse Saga. Loki season 2 was one of the strongest entries in the MCU's Phase 5 lineup, offering emotional depth, multiverse context, and a redemption arc for one of the franchise’s most iconic characters. By directly tying The Fantastic Four: First Steps to Loki's finale, the MCU could both honor Loki's importance and show how its narrative consequences reverberate across new stories.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps’ Newest Casting Confirmation Means 1 MCU Actor Will Actually Be Returning For The Third Time In The Movie
Fantastic Four: First Steps has confirmed who will be playing one of its main characters, with an actor who has appeared twice before in the MCU.
It also helps anchor First Steps within the broader multiverse story arc while omitting the abandoned Kang narrative and some of the saga’s less favorable entries. The Multivese Saga has had its highs and lows, and by linking The Fantastic Four: First Steps with Loki, the movie only builds upon one of the saga’s most triumphant entries and essentially tidying up the convoluted MCU timeline.
The Fantastic Four: First Steps
- Release Date
- July 25, 2025
- Runtime
- 130 Minutes
- Director
- Matt Shakman
- Writers
- Jeff Kaplan, Josh Friedman, Ian Springer, Eric Pearson, Stan Lee
- Producers
- Jamie Christopher, Kevin Feige, Louis D'Esposito, Tim Lewis
Cast
Reed Richards / Mr. Fantastic
Vanessa KirbySue Storm / The Invisible Woman
Johnny Storm / Human Torch
Ebon Moss-BachrachBen Grimm / The Thing
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
Loki
- Release Date
- June 9, 2021
- Network
- Disney+
- Showrunner
- Michael Waldron
Cast
Loki Laufeyson
Miss Minutes (voice)
WHERE TO WATCH
- Directors
- Kate Herron
- Writers
- Bisha K. Ali, Michael Waldron
- Franchise(s)
- Marvel Cinematic Universe
- Creator(s)
- Michael Waldron
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