The first trailer for “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” sparked rumors that Sue Storm (Vanessa Kirby) would be pregnant with Franklin Richards in the superteam’s first adventure in the Marvel Cinematic Universe. Rather than making fans wait to see if this was the case, the “Fantastic Four” marketing is now fully leaning into the fact that Franklin is, in fact, part of the movie. But before he was a baby in an MCU film, Franklin was one of the most powerful Marvel heroes of all time, so check out our Franklin Richards explainer video above to learn more about him before “First Steps” marches into theaters on July 25. 

Franklin is the son of Reed Richards (Pedro Pascal) and Sue Storm, but he’s no ordinary child. From a young age, he exhibits several truly incredible powers, like telepathy and telekinesis, but that only scratches the surface. He can bend reality to his whim, meaning he can create new people, new planets, and even entire dimensions. In the comics, he’s one of the few characters who’s managed to defeat Galactus (Ralph Ineson), so it’s possible that “First Steps” will involve him becoming an integral component for the team saving Earth from the mega-villain. Of course, that’s only speculation at this point, since it’s unclear how large of a role Franklin will play in the film.

Beyond his big screen debut, there’s also the question as to how he’ll factor in the upcoming “Avengers: Doomsday” and “Avengers: Secret Wars,” if he does at all. But we’re getting ahead of ourselves — let’s just take the MCU one step at a time.

“The Fantastic Four: First Steps” takes place in an alternate reality from the one where most of the MCU saga has taken place so far. On this Earth, the Fantastic Four — consisting of Reed Richards as Mister Fantastic, Sue Storm as Invisible Woman, Johnny Storm (Joseph Quinn) as Human Torch, and Ben Grimm (Ebon Moss-Bachrach) as The Thing — are beloved heroes. But one day, they receive a message from the Silver Surfer (Julia Garner) that the planet has been marked for death by Galactus, who’s on his way to devour everything they know.

“First Steps” is looking like it’ll perform fantastically at the box office, with projections currently estimating the film will bring in between $125 and $155 million domestically in its opening frame. “Fantastic Four” needs to be a hit, as the other 2025 MCU films have underperformed. “Captain America: Brave New World” brought in $415 million worldwide, while “Thunderbolts*” made even less with $381 million. The Fantastic Four is definitely more of a household name compared to the Thunderbolts, so it’s possible more people will be willing to turn out for them. Regardless of how much money the film makes, the Fantastic Four are here to stay, as the “Thunderbolts*” post-credits scene already showed the team’s ship entering the main MCU universe.

Did the Fantastic Four jump realities because Galactus succeeded in consuming their world? Are they aware that Doctor Doom (Robert Downey Jr.) is on the way and are looking for assistance in defeating him? The only way to know is to see “The Fantastic Four: First Steps” when it hits theaters on July 25.